PAGARA-JUAREZ REMATCH IN THE WORKS
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 12 Jun 2018
"Prince" Albert Pagara wrested once again the WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight title belt which was taken from him by Mexico's Cesar Juarez. Pagara made a short work on finishing Ghanaian Laryea Gabriel Odoi in the very successful Pinoy Pride 44 in Maasin City by 3rd round TKO.
The young Pagara was very happy and confident that he brought back his old form, and the victory was sweeter since it was before his cheering citymates. ?It was very emotional because I took the title that I lost,? said Pagara as quoted by Cebu Daily News.
Now Pagara wants a rematch with his tormentor. Pagara floored Juarez in the first round during their encounter in July 2016 and was ahead in the scorecards when he lost energy in the later rounds and fell in the eighth round.
ALA Sports Promotions CEO Michael Aldeguer said they would love a Pagara-Juarez rematch and that?s their goal. Pagara fought a great fight with the Mexican and got hit. "Everybody knows that Juarez is a world-class fighter, he didn?t lose to just anybody. Juarez gave Nonito a tough fight. That?s the goal. What I?m pleased about now is that you can see Albert?s swagger is back,? Aldeguer told SunStar Cebu.
Aldeguer said Pagara's fight with Odoi was his step up fight. If Albert was not able to win over Odoi convincingly, then ALA would not be sure about their future plans for the Maasin City native. But he had a very impressive win where he outclassed the African. "His confidence is back so he should be back in the world-class level where we expect him to be,? Aldeguer said.
The outcome of the fight showed that Albert has regained his focus and surely he wants to be back at the level he was once before. "Against Odoi, he was expected to dominate which he did,? said Aldeguer.
The Juarez fight was a learning experience for the younger Pagara when he lost to a world caliber fighter. It was a painful first defeat but "what Albert gained after the loss was maturity and experience which are traits needed to be in a title contention again," Aldeguer told CDN.
Alderguer disclosed that they are planning to include Pagara in the undercard of the All-Filipino world title showdown between Donnie Nietes and Aston Palicte for the WBO superflyweight belt in Cebu City this coming August. The time for negotiation with the Juarez camp is very limited though.
After the Juarez defeat, Pagara returned to the ring in November 2016 against another Ghanaian Raymond Commey. "Prince" had a humdrum performance en route to a decision jeered by the fans.
Pagara fought Odoi last Saturday and proved to the boxing world that he had regained his confidence. Pagara floored Odoi twice with solid rights and straights forcing his corner to throw in the towel as a sign of surrender in the third.
Juarez is still a very dangerous fighter in the junior featherweight division despite his first career knockout loss to another Ghanaian, the KO artist Isaac Dogboe, last January for the interim WBO junior featherweight title. Juarez was able to put up a ruthless fight and several experts thought the referee's stoppage of the match and declaring Dogboe the winner was premature.
Juarez's persistent attacks and physical toughness will be a big challenge for Pagara. After his loss to Dogboe, he grabbed two knockout wins against Carlos Espinoza Silva and Wilner Soto within two months.
Atty. Ed Tolentino, the ABS-CBN commentator in Pinoy Pride 44, wrote in Spin.ph: "Pagara needs to get past Juarez if he is to fully erase the stigma of the knockout loss he suffered two years ago. He needs to beat Juarez to convince fight fans that he is now capable of beating an adversary who offers more than a pulse. Juarez is the lingering nightmare that Pagara must finally confront."
Photo: Albert Pagara drops Odoi to the canvas during their WBO Inter-Continental championship fight last Saturday in Maasin City.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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