PINOY PRIDE 5 UNDERCARDS: Pagara and Njiku vow KO wins
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 07 Apr 2011
Pagara (L) and Njiku at today's presscon.
Bacolod City - Teenage rising star Jason Pagara (25W-1L, 14 KO?s) of the ALA Gym will fight Deo Njiku (11W-4L, 9 KO?s)of Tanzania for the WBO Youth Asia-Pacific jr.welterweight title in the undercard of Donnie Nietes vs Armando Vasquez of Mexico this Saturday.
Emmanuel Mlundwa, the president of the Pugilistic Syndicate of Tanzania (PST), was quoted in the Tanzanian newpaper, The Citizen as saying,?Njiku is among the best boxers in the country at the moment, I am optimistic that he will outdo his challenger and clinch the WBO title,? Mlundwa was the trainer who accompanied Francis Miyeyusho, who was knocked out by AJ Banal in two rounds in Cebu.
During the press conference held at the Palmas Del Mar resort hotel in Bacolod, PST vice president Anthony Ruta, who is here in the Philippines as Njiku's trainer, concurred with the assessment about Njiku's status in their country. Ruta is also a former prizefighter.
Njiku, who sports the ring moniker "The Hammer", said that he is confident of winning, even by knockout. Together with Ruta, they have travelled for two days, from Dar es Salaam to Addis Ababa to Hong Kong then Manila to Bacolod for this fight. They still arrived in high spirits.
Pagara for his part said his opponent should not be overconfident because he can knock him out anytime. In his last fight, he knocked out Indonesian Billy Sumba with one punch in the opening round.
Lorenzo Villanueva (L) and James Mokoginta of Indonesia pose during Thursday's press conference at the Palmas del Mar Resort in Bacolod City.
Unbeaten WBO Oriental featherweight champ Lorenzo ?Thunderbolt? Villanueva (19W with 18 KO?s -0L- 1 NC) of the Braveheart Boxing Club of North Cotabato will face James Mokoginta (15W-4L-1D, 4 KO?s) of Indonesia. Villanueva holds a fearsome 90 percent knockout rate. But Mokoginta?s trainer is undaunted as he claims he has fought here in Negros before against Melvin Magramo.
Roli Gasca (L) and Ngaotawan Sithsaithong pose during Thursday's press conference at the Palmas del Mar Resort in Bacolod City.
PABA bantamweight titlist Roli Gasca (15W-1L, 2 KO?s) will face Ngaotawan Sithsaithong (8W-5L-1D, 4 KO?s) of Thailand in a non-title fight. Gasca said that he has no predictions and he?ll just fight his fight and the knockout will come.
The official weigh-in for PINOY PRIDE 5 will be on Friday and fights start at 3PM this Saturday. TV coverage is on Sunday courtesy of ABS-CBN.
Author's note: I stayed for two weeks in Deo Njiku's hometown of
Morogoro in 2006 during my stint as a volunteer doctor in Tanzania. It was there where I had my first African safari in nearby Mikumi National Park, where I saw my first lion in the wild. I returned in 2007 for another two weeks. It was there where I had my Swahili lessons. The hills of Morogoro are known for their breathtaking view.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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