BATAWANG VS SOLIS SET FOR MARCH 6; WINNER GETS TAMARA
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 27 Jan 2010
Filipino fighter Bert Batawang is set to collide with ex-IBF champion Ulises Solis of Mexico in a 12-round eliminator on March 6, with the winner getting the mandatory status to face newly-crowned IBF light-flyweight champ Carlos Tamara.
Tamara had successfully wrested the IBF title with a come-from-behind technical knockout win over Fil-Am Brian Viloria on Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Batawang's promoter and manager Sammy Gello-ani stressed that the winner of the Solis-Batawang tiff is assured of the chance to face Tamara as the mandatory challenger, or become the regular champion should the Colombian opt to move up in weight.
"The winner of the Batawang-Solis bout will be the mandatory challenger against Tamara. I am now arranging Batawang's fight with Solis in Mexico," said Gello-ani minutes after Tamara stopped Viloria.
The planned eliminator will actually be a rematch between Batawang and Solis, with the latter winning their first bout in December 2007 via ninth-round technical knockout.
The Filipino fighter, however, emphasized that he would love nothing more than a rematch with Solis, whom he said got lucky to cause a ribcage injury in the early going of their first bout to gain momentum before the win.
"I want to have a rematch with Solis. He just caught me early in our first fight. But next time, if I'm the one who gets him early, then he would also go," said the soft-spoken Batawang, who is 4-1 since their last outing. The veteran fighter has already started training for the fight, running in the morning and working out in the afternoon at his own gym.
Gello-ani, who is slated to depart for the United States next week to be at ringside when his fighter Ciso Morales challenges WBO bantam champ Fernando Montiel, indicated that the Batawang-Solis eliminator will be held in Mexico but will be aired on a Philippine television.
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