BAUTISTA, BANAL START TRAINING IN PUERTO RICO!
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 09 Apr 2007
Undefeated Filipino fighters Rey 'Boom Boom' Bautista and Alex John 'Bazooka' Banal have started the hard part of their training in Puerto Rico after arriving last Sunday in San Juan following a six-hour flight from Los Angeles, California.
The two fighters, along with Filipino trainer Edito 'Ala' Villamor, were picked up at the airport by no less than Golden Boy Promotions vice-president Eric Gomez, said their manager Antonio L. Aldeguer, who is set to fly to the United States on April 25 with his whole family to be at ringside for the Oscar De la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather super-bout dubbed 'The World Awaits.'
Bautista and Banal are both seeing action on the undercard against tough opponents, and the bouts will be aired live by ABS-CBN, the country's biggest television network.
Bautista takes on Sergio Medina in a 12-round WBO superbantamweight eliminator which will open the three-bout pay-per-view telecast, while Banal goes up against a soon-to-be-announced foe.
"Their sparring partners are already being prepared. There will be no problem in sparring," said Villamor in a long-distance interview.
"The weather is hot in Puerto Rico just like in the Philippines. The girls are hot and very beautiful too," added trainer Villamor, who is in Puerto Rico for the first time.
Villamor said that he joined Bautista and Banal in celebrating Easter Sunday at the home of Oscar De la Hoya and wife Millie Corretjer, which is just about ten minutes from where they are staying.
Aside from De la Hoya, trainer Freddie Roach and Sugar Shane Mosley were also with the group to celebrate Easter Sunday.
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