MAKE OR BREAK FIGHT FOR 'BOOM BOOM' BAUTISTA
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 11 Jun 2011
Some years ago when he was training at the Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach at the time Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions was handling Bautista, AJ "Bazooka" Banal and Z "The Dream" Gorres, the consensus among them was that "Boom Boom" was a future world champion and a possible successor to reigning pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao.
But that was before Bautista's ill-advised title shot at the menacing WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon on the Philippines vs Mexico World Cup of Boxing at the Arco Arena in Sacramento in August 2007.
The late Rudy Salud, the eminent founding secretary general of the World Boxing Council had publicly warned that Bautista was too young and his physical structure not strong and mature enough to take on such a devastating puncher as Ponce De Leon. But Bautista wanted the fight and Golden Boy figured he could get the job done.
The rest is part of painful boxing history at least in the pages of Bautista's career. He suffered a confidence-shattering first round knockout and drew some derisive comments from forum pundits who tore into him unfairly, without understanding the nuances of boxing or the sacrifices made by the young man.
Neither did they know that Bautista, as early as then, had a rotten bone in his left wrist which ached every time he threw the jab which is what Roach initially instructed him to do for the first two or three rounds to sizeup Ponce De Leon. Bautista, his immaturity showing, immediately sought to trade after getting tagged by a solid punch which was his undoing.
It took some time for him to recover, more mentally than physically, but he slowly came back before his second setback against the Mexican he faces tonight before what promises to be a sellout crowd at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu, quickly challenging other sites as the fight capital of Asia.
Bautista was dropped in the third round and eventually lost an eight round decision to Heriberto"Cuate" Ruiz, an accomplished boxer on the undercard of the Ricky "Hitman" Hatton - Paulie Malignaggi showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2008.
It was only after the Ruiz fight that doctors discovered the rotten bone in Bautista's wrist. He underwent surgery to remove the bone and had a bone from his hip grafted to replace it. Rehabilitation therapy lasted for almost one year before Bautista returned to the ring and racked up four successive knockout wins to prove he was ready to try and avenge his loss to the 33 year old Ruiz.
For sure, it is going to be a tough task. Ruiz who is trained by his father who conceded he is a little nervous, claimed he trained for three weeks for his first fight against Bautista but trained for three months for the "Grudge Rematch" in the Pinoy Pride 6, the fascinating series which is promoted by ALA Promotions in cooperation with the giant broadcast
network ABS-CBN and telecast on its pre-eminent Channel 2 as well as The Filipino Channel which reaches large Filipino andf Fil-foreign communities in the Middle East, Europe, North America and Australia.
Boom Boom said he is more than ready to avenge his loss to Ruiz. He admits its a tough fight but says he has prepared long and hard.
Strength and conditioning coach Pio Solon, an accomplished young man whose methods resemble those of Pacquiao's strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza told us Bautista is moving much better than before, has the head movement necessary to stay out of trouble and is punching harder than when he knocked out Alejandro Barrera in three rounds early this year.
What Bautista needs to do is to keep his focus and follow the game plan drawn up by his team which includes boxing patron Tony Aldeguer who now involves himself more in the training aspect of the ALA fighters while his son, Michael Aldeguer handles the business end.
Bautista has been studying the tape of his first fight against Ruiz with his team and on occasions watches Ruiz fight tapes alone. Clearly he is primed and ready but what we've seen of Ruiz is that the Mexican is cool, calculating and confident. He moves well, is nimble on his feet and is a smart boxer. He comes from a family of fighters and is a typical Mexican warrior.
Maybe, just maybe, Bautista's power may be the deciding factor in an enthralling fight that could well be another war in the storied rivalry between the Philippines and Mexico.
To be sure a win by Bautista will once again catapult the chartismatic and popular 24 year old into the international consciousness among the world's leading featherweights. Already, we understand, there's been interest evidenced in a possible fight against world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa who is also being eyed by former two division world champion Gerry Penalosa for his protege, southpaw Michael Farenas.
The talk is a little premature because both fighters need to win their next fights, the more impressively, the better. Its a tough task for Bautista for sure but that's what makes boxing such an intriguing sport.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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