TU?ACAO, SUICO TO DEFEND OPBF TITLES TOGETHER
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 08 Dec 2005
Reigning Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) bantam king Malcolm "Eagle Eye" Tu?acao and OPBF super-featherweight champ Randy "Komong Bato" Suico, two of the original trifecta called Golden Boys of Cebu boxing, are slated to defend their prestigious regional titles when they clash with Japanese challengers on February 5, 2006 at the Nagoya Kokusai Kaigijo in Japan.
The twinbill was announced the other day over at CBC TV, a Nagoya television channel, with the two Japanese challengers in attendance.
Ryuhei Sugita (left) and Kohei Ohba face the media during formal announcement of their OPBF title bids against two premier Filipino fighters Randy Suico and Malcolm Tu?acao, respectively.
-- PHOTO BY SPONICHI ANNEX
Suico, managed by well-respected Japanese boxing personality Joe Koizumi, will face Ryuhei Sugita in a 12-round rumble, while Tu?acao defends against Kohei Ohba in the other 12-round spectacle.
Both Suico and Tu?acao were in Cebu training for their upcoming fights when the announcement was made.
"I know Im the pre-fight under-dog. Favorite is Randy. But I will try to do my best to be an OPBF champ," Sugita told the media in attendance.
The dynamite-fisted Suico (23-2, 20 KO's) remains very dangerous despite two controversial losses to Mzonke Fana and Javier Jauregui. But Sugita (30-2-2, 22 KO's) is riding high on a 5-bout winning streak.
Ohba (13-0, 8 KO's), meanwhile, was very humble when he said, "The champ Tu?acao is too strong for me, I know. This is very good experience for me to fight such a dangeraous opponent like Malcolm."
Tu?acao (19-1-2, 13 KO's), managed by Japanese businessman Yasuo Matsuoka, is the former WBC flyweight kingpin.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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