Gumban ready for Indon Bajawa
By Jerome S. Galunan Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 21 Aug 2013
BACOLOD CITY ? Escalante City pride and undefeated prospect Melvin ?Topgun? Gumban (14-0, 6KOs) is ready for 22-year-old Indonesian John ?Geli? Bajawa (11-4, 6KOs) in a 10-round fight at 115 lbs. in the inaugural ?IDOL 1? ? Philippines vs. Indonesia on August 24 at the Escalante City Coliseum.
Despite fighting a foreigner for the first time, the 21-year-old Gumban said that he has underwent 3 months of rigid preparation for this fight. ?I?m already excited for this Saturday?s fight.?
Gumban, meanwhile, expunged doubts that his fight might only gather few spectators because, of its distance from the province? capital ? Bacolod City. ?I?m confident that the place will be filled up with city-based crowd because lots of people in our city knew me,? he said.
Dennis Ca?ete, ALA Promotions Vice President and General Manager, also stressed that the city government has been very supportive in their event, ?as evidence was our last Cobra boxing staged last year.?
?This is also the reason why we chose Escalante as the pilot of the ?Idol? Boxing Series,? the ALA executive said.
On the other hand, fighting in the main undercard, 19-year-old Mark Vincent Bernaldez (10-0, 6KOs) will be tested by 27-year-old veteran Marangin ?Dinamita? Marbun (21-10-1, win-loss-draw, 9KOs) in the 8-round clash at 124 lbs.
But the young fighter from Butuan City isn?t new with Indonesians. ?I?ve already fought against other Indonesians with Arief Blader as the latest, after Lorenzo Villanueva, who was supposedly scheduled to fight, got injured,? Bernaldez said.
For Ca?ete, the ?Idol? Boxing Series will help Filipino fighters establish their image in the early part of their careers before going up as title contenders or future champions. ?Many Filipino fighters in our country have reached the spotlights of their careers but, only few knew their respective backgrounds or where they came from,? he said. ?Many of them fought in Pinoy Pride but nobody knew them. So people only come to watch the main event and don?t care about those prospects. ?Idol? will serve as an avenue to showcase fighters from their early careers,? he said.
?Moreover, ?Idol? will further enhance the ALA Promotions? existing programs like the Cobra Boxing and the Pinoy Pride,? the ALA Promotions official added.
This boxing promotion, presented by ALA Promotions headed by Michael Aldeguer in partnership with Escalante City government under Mayor Melecio Yap, is sanctioned by the Games and Amusement Board chaired by Juan Ramon ?Monju? Guanzon and GAB-Bacolod headed by OIC Donna Mae Martir.
Tickets are available at the Escalante City Hall at P300 (VIP), P100 (lower box) and P25 for General Admission. (Watchmen Daily Journal)
Photo: (from left) Mark Bernaldez of Butuan City, Melvin ?Topgun? Gumban of Escalante City, ALA Promotions Vice President and General Manager Dennis Ca?ete, and Mark ?Magnifico? Magsayo of Tagbilaran City during the press conference yesterday of the ?IDOL 1? ? Philippines vs. Indonesia held at the Casino-Filipino Hotel in Bacolod City. (Jerome S. Galunan Jr. Photo).
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