PINOY PRIDE RETURNS TO SOLAIRE MARCH 1
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 12 Feb 2014
MANDAUE CITY, CEBU ? Blue chip prospects Genesis ?Azukal? Servania (R) and ?King? Arthur Villanueva (L) will be featured in the 24th edition of the popular ?PINOY PRIDE? boxing series at the Solaire Resort and Casino.
Servania (23W-0L, 9 KO's) will stake his WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight title against Alexander ?El Explosivo? Mu?oz (36-5, 28 KO's) of Venezuela.
The official launching of the card billed as ?The Future is Now? was held Wednesday noon at the Copenhagen Hotel and Residences. During the event, ALA Promotions Pres and CEO Michael Aldegeuer stated that this fight will determine if Servania is ready to fight for a world title. He said that Servania is in search of a career defining fight and Mu?oz, a former WBA super flyweight champ, will certainly provide a tough test.
Mu?oz has lost to quality fighters like Cristian Mijares, Koki Kameda and Leo Santa Cruz. This will be Servania's second stint as a Pinoy Pride headliner and his first as a main event event boxer in Metro Manila. Last October in Cebu City, Servania, who was recently picked as the best boxer by the WBO, knocked out Panamanian Rafael Concepcion in two rounds.Servania recently arrived from his training stint in the U.S and Mexico
This is the second PINOY PRIDE event set at the Solaire. Last July 13, 2013, the venue was the site of Merlito Sabillo's successful defense of his WBO 105 lb division title against Jorle Estrada of Colombia.
Villanueva (24-0, 14 KO's), the reigning WBO International super flyweight titlist, will be the co-main feature against Mexico's Juan ?Churritos? Hernandez. Villanueva had a stellar year, beating another erstwhile undefeated Filipino prospect, Marco Demecillo by unanimous decision and stopping Mexican boxers Arturo Badillo and Edgar Martinez.
Hernandez owns a disqualification win against Filipino minimumweight contender Denver Cuello and a split decision win over Moises Fuentes. This is the same Fuentes who fought Donnie Nietes to a draw here in Cebu last year. In 2011, Hernandez lost to Kazuto Ioka of Japan in his attempt to win the WBC minimumweight title. He also lost to Ramon Garcia Hirales by 8th round KO last year.
L-R: Trainer Editor Villamor, Arthur Villanueva, ALA President Michael Aldeguer and Genesis Servania during Wednesday's presscon at the Copenhagen Hotel & Residences in Mandadue City. Photo by Dong Secuya.
The undercards will also showcase another unbeaten ALA boxer, ?Prince? Albert Pagara, who will fight Isack Junior of Indonesia.
Rounding up the undercards are Mark ?Magnifico" Magsayo vs Royroy Sumugat (6 rounds), Melvin Gumban vs Dino Lelis (8 rounds), Vic Saludar vs Philip Luis Cuerdo (6 rounds) and Reyme Castillano Aleye of Cuba vs Justo Bornilla.
Aleye had an impressive showing against Rodel Wenceslao last month during the Sinulog Festival here in Cebu.
FUTURE CARDS
ALA Promotions CEO Michael Aldeguer also announced their plans for this year's PINOY PRIDE events. They will have an event in Davao City this April 5 with Jason Pagara as the headliner. The venue of the rematch between Nietes and Fuentes is still under negotiation but if it will be held here, they plan to stage the event at the Mall of Asia Arena on May 3. There is a June 20 event penned for Dubai and a July card in San Diego.The California State Athletic Commission has approved ALA Promotions' plan to stage a boxing show there this year.
Does this mean there will be fewer big boxing events for Cebu?
Aldeguer acknowledged PINOY PRIDE's origins and growth in Cebu and thanked the Cebu media for their continuing support. He also stated that since Cebu boxing fans have been watching so many big events throughout the years, they have learned to expect higher quality match-ups. Cebu, however, is in need of a bigger boxing venue, bigger than the Waterfront Hotel. There is a huge arena under construction at the South Reclamation area and this could very well host the next world title bouts here in the country's fight capital.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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