SPORTS SHORTS 260: JAYSON MAMA FIGHTS FOR THE IBF WORLD FLYWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST SUNNY EDWARDS ON DECEMBER 11
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 14 Nov 2021
The undefeated Filipino contender Jayson Mama challenges Sunny Edwards for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) world flyweight championship on December 11 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Their fight was originally scheduled to collide on September 11 at Copper Box Arena, London, England but Edwards withdrew from the match because of an ankle injury.
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Mandatory challenger Mama (16-0, 9 KOs) gave way to Edwards (16-0, 4 KOs) who instead challenged Moruti Mthalane for the title on April 30. Edwards wrested the IBF flyweight title belt from Mthalane at York Hall, London, England by unanimous decision with the scores of 115-113, 118-111, and 120-108.
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Mthalane had been unbeaten for more than 12 years, losing to Nonito Donaire by 6th round TKO on November 1, 2008. The Gauteng, South African native also defeated John Riel Casimero by 5th round TKO on March 26, 2011.
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Mama, age 24 years, is from General Santos City, the place of eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao. An orthodox fighter, he is No. 3 IBF and No. 10 WBO world flyweight contender.
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Mama mocked Edward's victory. “Mthalane was old. Edwards was running all night. I hope he doesn’t run when he fights me but I think he will run from me,” said Mama as quoted by Boxing Scene.
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Even if he denounced Edwards running style against Mthalane, Mama however describes his foe as a competent fighter. “Edwards is a great boxer but I have trained really hard to bring back the belt to the Philippines," said Mama.
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Mama trains at the Sanman gym in his hometown in GenSan under trainer Ronerex Dalut. His last fight was on April 30, when he won an eight round stoppage against Romshane Sarguilla from Midsayap, Cotabato. It was Mama's third KO win in his last four fights.
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The Filipino boxer arrived in London on September 7, only to know that his IBF flyweight title bout with Sunny Edwards on September 11 is cancelled allegedly due to the British having an ankle injury.
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The cancellation was a repeat of Mama's haunting experience last December when he landed in Durban, South Africa only to be disappointed when his title fight with hometown favorite Moruti Mthalane has been called off after organizers failed to comply with some contract provisions.
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Probellum will host a historic world championship double-header in Dubai on December 11 dubbed as "Probellum: Revolution". Together with the Sunny Edwards versus Jayson Mama is John Riel Casimero staking his WBO bantamweight title against Englishman Paul Butler.
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Casimero (31-4, 21 KOs) is back after his triumph over Guillermo Rigondeaux on August 14, will be facing mandatory challenger Butler (33-2, 15 KOs). Casimero is considered one of the hardest hitting punchers in the bantamweight division and strives to keep his winning streak going into his third world title defense.
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Four-weight world champion Donnie Nietes (43-1-5, 23 KOs) is also slated to fight on the card in this inaugural Probellum championship event, as he moves closer to another championship belt in a world title elimination fight.
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The undercard will also feature the undefeated super featherweight Archie Sharp (21-0, 9 KOs), and former world title challenger Jono Carroll (20-2-1, 5 KOs), who is fresh from a victory against Andy Vences in September.
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“We are delighted to finally announce plans for this incredible event in Dubai next month,” said Richard Schaefer, President of Probellum as quoted by RingTV. “We made it clear from the offset that we have massive plans in store for Probellum, and this world title double-header shows just that."
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“The two world title fights see John Riel Casimero face Paul Butler, while Sunny Edwards takes on Jayson Mama, and both of those bouts are set to be guaranteed excitement."
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"With the likes of Donnie Nietes, Archie Sharp and Jono Carroll all competing too, fans will be treated to a night of non-stop action. We cannot wait for fight night and are proud to bring this historic event to the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.”
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Anthony Davis lambasted the Los Angeles Lakers’ play in a 107-83 humiliating loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday while LeBron James watched from the sidelines with injury. "We’ve got to decide who we want to be,” Davis said. “A championship team? That’s not us right now.
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“We’re not winning a championship the way we’re playing. We’ve got to be better, and we’ve got to care more for our wins at home. Wins in general. That was embarrassing.” The Lakers led by five points at the halftime but were out-scored 40-12 in the third quarter by the Timberwolves, the third from the bottom in the Western Conference.
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“We sucked,” Davis described the third period. “No defense. Can’t score. That’s not just this third quarter, (it’s) every third quarter we’ve played this season. We come out slow, lackadaisical offensively and defensively. We’ve got to get it together.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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