Pinoy Pride 42: Jason Pagara faces Richmond Djarbeng of Ghana; Complete Undercard Lineup Bared
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 17 Aug 2017
Cebu City ? Filipino super lightweight contender Jason Pagara will meet Richmond Djarbeng of Ghana on the co-feature bout of the Milan Melindo vs Hekkie Budler IBF world Jr. Flyweight Championship on 'Pinoy Pride 42: Clash for Glory' at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino here on September 16, this was announced during the press luncheon gathering at the Park Social Restobar at the IT Park Thursday.
The Pagara-Djarbeng matchup will be contested over 10 rounds in the welterweight division (146 lbs limit).
Pagara, 29, who has a record of 40 wins and two losses with 25 knockouts, has been the WBO No. 1 contender in the super lightweight division (140 lbs) for sometime but has now dropped to the No. 3 spot below Antonio Orozco of San Diego, California and Maurice Hooker of Texas. Pound for pound boxer Terence Crawford of Nebraska is the WBO and WBC champion while Julius Indongo of Namibia is the IBF and WBA champion. Crawford and Indongo will stake their belts for the rare undisputed title this Saturday in Lincoln Nebraska.
Djarbeng, 27, 28-3-1, 22KOs, lost to Jeff Horn by 3rd round TKO on June 13, 2015 in New Zealand but since then had racked up eight straight victories, six inside the distance. Pagara hasn't lost a fight since 2011.
?I saw his fights on YouTube,? Pagara told Philboxing, ?Kaya ra (I can handle him).?
But Pagara's trainer Edmund Villamor is more cautious. ?We cannot be over-confident. Djarbeng has power and he attacks so we have to be careful,? Villamor said.
ALA matchmaker Edito Villamor, who was also in the press gathering, was asked why Pagara has never fought for a world title or against top contenders in spite of his lofty ranking and impressive record. ?If we're offered for a world title fight or a fight with any of these guys we'll take it,? Villamor said. ?But it's very difficult if we're the one to offer a fight because these boxers are very expensive. We can't probably afford them,? Villamor said referring to a list of named contenders in the recent past in Pagara's division that read like a who's who in boxing: Ruslan Provodnikov, Lucas Matthysse, Jessie Vargas, Adrien Broner, Chris Algieri, Antonio Orozco and Maurice Hooker.
?They probably won't offer us a fight because they see us as a high-risk low reward opponent,? Villamor added.
Jason Pagara (C) is flanked by ALA matchmaker Editor Villamor (L) and his trainer Edmund Villamor (R) during Thursday's presscon at the Park Social Restobar at the IT Park in Cebu City.
The complete lineup of the September 16 event is now complete.
Jonas 'Zorro' Sultan will face former two-division world champion Johnriel Casimero for the IBF world Jr bantamweight eliminator with the winner will most likely face Filipino world champion Jerwin Ancajas.
Combacking Arthur Villanueva (30-2-0, 16KOs) will face many time world title challenger Richie Mepranum (31-6-1, 8KOs) in the bantamweight division scheduled for 10 rounds.
Kevin Jake Cataraja (6-0-0, 5KOs) of Cebu City squares off against Wiljan Ugbaniel (13-5-1, 4KOs) of General Santos City.
Virgel Vitor (10-1-0, 6KOs) of Cebu City takes on Alvin Bais (15-9-1, 4KOs) of Maasim, Sarangani.
Kenneth Paul Gentallan (5-0-1, 3KOs) of Bohol faces Jeffrey Stella (4-3-1, 4KOs) of Mandaue City.
In the curtain raise, Jeno Macapobre (1-0-0, 0KOs) of Toledo City is pitted against Mel Anthony Ando (0-1-0, 0KOs) of Mandaue City.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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