PAGARA BROS. STAR IN ?FISTS OF THE FUTURE?
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 03 Jun 2014
CEBU CITY ? The fighting Pagara brothers will headline the 26th edition of ?PINOY PRIDE? on June 21 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino. The event was formally launched today in a press conference held at the St. Mark?s Hotel.
Jason ?El Ni?o? Pagara (33W-2L, 20KO?s) will defend his WBO International light welterweight title against Mario ?Rocky? Meraz (20W-3L,16KO?s), a Mexican with a high knockout percentage.
?This fight will be a big test for Jason,? ALA Promotions Pres and CEO Michael Aldeguer said, ?When we were planning to set up a gym in San Diego, California, we had Jason in mind. He will need exposure especially in terms of sparring abroad. For his improvement and growth as a boxer, he will need to spar against tough Mexicans. We will see in this fight how he will perform.?
Pagara is in a tough division filled with name boxers and dangerous punchers. But he feels he can take them on if given the opportunity by his promoter.
?I have studied the fight videos of Meraz,? Jason said, ?I can take him and there will be a knockout.?
?Prince? Albert Pagara, the younger of the two, will be going for his first belt when he fights Mexican Hugo ?Olympico? Partida (21-W4L-2D,16KO?s) for the vacant IBF Intercontinental junior featherweight title.
The unbeaten ?Prince? Albert (20-0,14KO?s) has a high seventy percent knockout rate and has trained hard for his coming out party.
?I trained to build more power and speed and better conditioning,? Albert stated.
Jason?s advice to his younger brother ? ?Don?t be overconfident and focus.?
Also set to see action is AJ ?Bazooka? Banal, who will face Defry ?The Hammer? Palulu of Indonesia in a ten round non-title contest. Banal was last seen at the Araneta Coliseum in November when he beat Puerto Rican Lucian Gonzalez by unanimous decision.
He will be fighting at 124 and they will reassess what weight category will he be more comfortable ? 122 or 126. Banal promised the fans he will bring something new to the table in this fight.
Jimrex ?Executioner? Jaca is penned to fight Masayoshi Kotake of Japan in an eight rounder.
Promoter Michael Aldeguer also announced that their Dubai card will be set on August 29 with Rey Bautista, Genesis Servania and Arthur Villanueva as the guys likely to see action.
?For Philippine boxing to grow, we should promote around the world.? Aldeguer said, ?There are a lot of boxers in the Philippines but very few are featured in big fight cards.?
?Cebu should be the Las Vegas of the Philippines but we need a bigger venue for big fights.? He added.
Top photo - Jason and Albert Pagara (right) flank ALA Promotions CEO Michael Aldeguer
PHOTOS BY MARY JANE CATRIZ
Below - The Pagara brothers with AJ Banal
Left to right - Trainer Edmund Villamor, AJ Banal,Jason Pagara, ALA Promotions Pres Michael Aldeguer, Albert Pagara and Trainer Edito Villamor
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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