Before local muay thai champ Kim Khan Zaki entered the ring for his final match on The Contender Asia, Alexis Ong chatted with ‘Zig Zach’ about his fighting chance, abs and film preferences

Where’d you just fly in from? 
I was in Phuket – I had a fight there. 

How’d that turn out for you? 
I won! 

We’re doing a story on white-collar boxing in our May issue. I know it’s totally unethical because you’re a trained fighter, but in a parallel universe, would you consider competing? It really depends on your personality, I guess. A lot of the guys doing white-collar boxing have backgrounds doing very challenging sports, like rugby and full-contact, competitive stuff. [But] When you’re in the ring, you realise it’s not just about physical strength. There’s a lot of mental strength and spirit involved, too. There is a game plan that goes along with your fighting. And in rugby and team sports on the field, there’s always someone to cover for you – in the ring there’s just you and the other guy. 

Do you get annoyed when people make Ong-Bak jokes? 
[Laughs] There’s always that dumb question – ‘Can you do that thing from that movie?’ – that is really annoying. It’s a movie – the whole thing is choreographed. What do you think? 

Speaking of movies, what’s your favourite fighting movie? Obviously not Ong-Bak. Rocky? Ali? 
Hmm, favourite movie? I’ll have to think about that… 

What about Raging Bull? 
Yes! You can put that down – Raging Bull is an amazing boxing movie. It was amazing to watch in black and white, and you really noticed the weight that Robert De Niro put on and lost throughout the film. Raging Bull and Bloodsport, because [Jean-Claude] Van Damme was supposedly well known at the time for practising muay thai. 

I hate Bloodsport, if only because whenever my friend sees me he calls me ‘Okay USA!’, that bad line from the movie. 
[Laughs] That’s terrible!

Tell me about it. So do chicks love the bad-boy image? It must help your game. 
Ha! Women tend to be quite impressed by it. They like to ask a lot of questions, like ‘How many scars do you have?’ and if we’re out in a club after a few drinks, it will inevitably lead to ‘Show me your abs!’ 

How inappropriate. 
Oh, it’s all right. Everyone’s a bit silly when they’re tipsy.

Your fight record is 12 wins out of 18 fights, seven of which were KOs. That’s pretty impressive. How do you keep yourself on your toes and stay motivated? 
Well, I want to be the top fighter in Singapore. It’s kind of tough here because there isn’t anyone else in Singapore who can match my experience. I would love to fight a fellow Singaporean, but there is nobody around right now. I want to be the best, and show people that The Contender wasn’t just a fluke. 

For more info on Zach, go to zig-zach.blogspot.com. 

See also - 'Friday night's alright for fighting'