RANEL SUCO TO BATTLE ROMANIA'S VIOREL SIMION DURING WBC CONVENTION THIS NOVEMBER IN THAILAND
By Carlos Costa
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 10 Sep 2013
The stage could not be grander: the 51th WBC Annual Convention in Bangkok, Thailand and some of the most influential eyes in the sport boxing will be watching. There, Filipino WBC Interim Asian Featherweight Champion Ranel Suco and world-rated Romanian Viorel "The Bomber" Simon will furiously slug it out in a battle of the WBC World Cup. Fight date: Friday November 8, the day before the closing of the WBC Convention.
The Simion-Suco fight - which is a group 4 entry in the WBC World Cup Tournament in the Featherweight division - will definitely advance the fighting career of the victorious, as the winner will likely face Britain's rising star Lee Selby in the Quarterfinals of the ongoing Cup.
The 26-year-old Ranel Suco, who is five years younger than the Romanian, comes from capturing the vacant interim WBC Asian Title from unheralded compatriot Prell Tupaz last February at PAGCOR Grand Theater, Airport Casino Filipino in Para?aque City, Metro Manila, a victory that catapulted Suco as a contestant into the WBC World Cup.
Meanwhile, "The Bomber" Viorel Simion, a former WBC International Champion, lands into this slug fest in urgent need of a win as his last outing was a wide-margin unanimous decision lost to talented Welshman Lee Selby two months ago at Craven Park Stadium in Hull, Yorkshire, England.
That summer loss to Selby (16-1, 6 KO's) cost Simion not only his unbeaten record, but also his WBC International crown, a title that he intends to claim back. But for that, the Romanian warrior will have to deal with the highly-motivated Ranel Suco, a mission that might not be easy as the 24-fight veteran Filipino is fast, knows his craft and in five years as a pro fighter has learned some battle tactics that could prove extremely useful on fight night.
However, as of now, both fighters are in full-throttle preparations for the war at the coming WBC Convention, and a tough war will be.
Simion - a former Olympian who represented his native Romania in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Greece - trains at his usual gym in Bucharest; while Suco works out at a high elevation boxing facility in Benguet Province, Philippines, under the guidance of experienced coach former fighter Joven "JJ" Jorda of Iloilo City.
Will the younger Filipino defeat the world-rated Romanian before the eyes of the attendants at the 51th WBC Convention and go on to challenge Britain's Lee Selby probably in England.... or will the relentless Viorel Simion shatter the glory dreams of the pinoy to claim a rematch with Selby, the author of his sole defeat?
This boxing reporter will be at ringside.
Filipino Featherweight Ranel Suco during training with Coach Joven Jorda Today at Highland Boxing Gym in La Trinidad Benguet.
The author, Carlos Costa, is an international boxing reporter and photographer who is immersed in the sport of boxing since attending a Roberto Duran fight in his native Panama. He travels the word over attending some most fascinating amateur and professional boxing event, covering boxing from State-owned boxing facilities in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, to far away mystic boxing-muay thai fight rings in The Kingdom of Thailand.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Costa.
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