BAUTISTA ENTERS SPARRING PHASE FOR 'PAYBACK'
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 27 Oct 2007
CEBU CITY -- Boholano boxing sensation Rey 'Boom Boom' Bautista has just entered the most exacting and crucial stage of his preparation with thrice-a-week sparring sessions at the ALA Gym here.
Bautista is gearing up for his December 2 bout with Antonio "Barrio" Meza at the Araneta Coliseum headlining the blockbuster "Payback" card promoted by "Third Force Promotion," a consortium of well-known businessmen from Manila.
The 21-year-old Bautista will be defending his WBO Inter-Continental superbantam title against the Mexicali, Mexico native.
"He has so far sparred 16 rounds against Leon Maratas. We're keeping him busy," said ALA Gym chief trainer Edito 'Ala' Villamor in an interview yesterday.
The Cebu-based fighter is aching to redeem himself from the shock first-round knockout loss at the hands of WBO superbantam champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in the main bout of the recent World Cup held in Sacramento, California.
"I am as determined as ever. I'd like to thank the fans for their continued support. In my next fight, I'll make sure I wont make the same mistakes I made in the De Leon fight," enthused the baby-faced Tagbilaran City native.
Meza, who holds the WBC Fecombox superbantam title, has reportedly gone up to the mountains of Mexico to prepare for the hard-punching Bautista in what is shaping up to be a highly-anticipated showdown.
The 24-year-old southpaw Mexican, who is riding high on a five-bout winning streak, parades a 23-2 win-loss record with 16 KO's.
Supporting the Bautista-Meza tiff is the 12-round confrontation between undefeated young phenom AJ Banal who will go up against Mexican Jovanny Soto.
Banal, the 18-year-old boy wonder from Ermita, Cebu, will be fighting his fourth Mexican opponent thus far, after notching wins against Juan Alberto Rosas, Jorge Cardenas and Esau Gaona.
"The way he's been beating the Mexicans, this boy Banal is fast becoming the worst nightmare for Latino fighters," said a boxing fan who saw Banal spar the other day against Z "The Dream" Gorres.
RP bantamweight champion Michael Domingo will also take on Tanzanian Anthony Mathias, while RP flyweight boss Rocky Fuentes takes on Baguio City's Javier Malulan in a non-title showdown.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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