FOUR REGIONAL BELTS AT STAKE IN BEIJING
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 28 Sep 2017
BEIJING, CHINA - Six Filipino boxers, with two fighting for WBO titles, will showcase their talents in a big international fight card in the Chinese capital.
Mark Anthony Barriga will be pitted against Thai Wittawas Basapen for the vacant WBO International minimumweight title. Barriga made weight but Wittawas, even after trying to shed weight, still was 1.7 lbs over the division limit.
So the title will be won by Barriga (6-0,1KO) if he beats the Thailander but it will be vacant if the Thai wins. Barriga stepped on the scales at 104lbs.
Barriga represented the Philippines in the 2012 London Olympics. Wittawas is a veteran of 39 fights, 33 wins, 12 by KO.He lost by 12th round TKO last year in his world title shot to then IBF light flyweight champion Akira Yaegsashi of Japan.
Ronnie Baldonado (9-0-1,6KO?s) will be defending his WBO interim light flyweight title belt against Iwan Zoda (14-2-1,13KO?s) of Indonesia. Zoda is a former IBF Youth flyweight titlist. Baldonado will be defending the belt he won last April also here in Beijing by stopping Ma Yi Ming in one round.
Both Baldonado and Zoda were identical at 111lbs.
The other regional belts at stake will be the WBO Youth super featherweight title between Pan Jinxiang of China and James MacDonald of Australia, the WBC ABCO light flyweight title between Bin Lu of China and Wanchai Nianghansa of Thailand.
Pan (7-0,4KO?s) won the super featherweight finals of the League of Fists boxing tournament last year and was crowned WBO China champion in his division. MacDonald (8-1-1,4Ko?s) won the vacant Australia-Queensland state featherweight belt in his last outing.
Bin used to be part of China?s amateur boxing team in Rio 2016 and will be fighting for a belt in his pro debut. He cited during the press conference China?s two professional boxing champions Xiong Zhaozhong and Zou Shiming, lost their world titles and he wants to be China?s next world champion.
Wanchai (8-9,6KO?s) lost in his first attempt at the WBC ABCO belt to South Korean Young Gil Bae early this year by TKO.
The WBO regional bouts will be supervised by WBO VP for Asia-Pacific Leon Panoncillo. Supervising for the WBC is Thawuth Pluemsamran of Thailand.
The other Filipinos in this card are Jay-ar Inson, Rene Mark Cuatro, Vincent Astrolabio and Genesis Libranza.
Inson will face Jin Yancheng of China, who is the reigning WBO China welterweight champion. Jin actually fought in Ilocos against Ryan Sermona last May. Inson is a former WBO interim lightweight titleholder.
There will be three more Philippines vs China matches - Libranza will face Zeng Yujie, Cuarto will be pitted against Guang Xiong Li and Astrolabio fights Ayati Sailike.
There will be an all female match between two Chinese boxers ? Yu Yahong and Gao Liu.
Boxing icon Senator Manny Pacquiao was a guest of honor during the press conference. This card is co-promoted by his company MP Promotions and Wen Xin Zhou of Ding Xin sports. This card is part of the Belt and Road World Boxing Champions Tour.
Top photo: Filipino boxers with trainer Nonoy Neri.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao with Chinese interpreter and philboxing correspondent T. Chin Te.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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