By Ronnie Nathanielsz
WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight champion Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista gets a chance to prove his worthiness as a successor to Filipino ring gladiator Manny Pacquiao when he battles Colombian KO artist Felix Flores Murillo on the undercard of Top Rank’s promotion “Double Trouble” at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on September 10.
Pacquiao battles Mexican veteran Hector Velasquez while Erik “El Terrible” Morales clashes with former US Olympian Zahir Raheem in the featured fights. Filipino-American Brian Viloria who is rated No.1 by the WBC goes after the light flyweight crown of Erik Ortiz on the same fight card which is shaping up to be a another Philippine-Mexican war.
Bautista’s manager Tony Aldeguer noted that the eight round bout would be a good test for the undefeated 19 year old who has a record of 16-0 with 12 knockouts while Murillo who lost a ten round decision to highly touted Fernando Beltran Jr last July 21 has a record of 13-4-1 with 11 KO’s.
Boxing man Michael Koncz who was instrumental in bringing Mexican Gilberto Bolanos to Cebu for a showdown with Bautista last June 11 and helped arrange the fight for Bautista on the Top Rank promotion said Bautista was “looking fabulous” and was “ready to fight.”
In an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Koncz said yesterday that Bautista sparred four rounds with a tough Brazilian bantamweight who didn’t return to the Wild Card Gym of 2003 “Trainer of the Year” Freddie Roach. Koncz said Bautista is scheduled to spar with IBF featherweight champion Israel Vasquez, a sparring partner of Pacquiao and would go six rounds next week as Roach indicated “he’ll pick it up” in terms of pace and intensity.
Bautista worked for five rounds on the punch-mitts with Roach and four rounds with his Filipino trainer Edito “Ala” Villamor. Koncz said after the workout that he was “very happy with the way Bautista looks.” The Los Angeles based boxing man said “this is a good step up for Rey and if we win this fight we’ll get on a show right away.”
Koncz took Bobby Pacquiao under his wing and immediately secured a fight for him against highly-rated Carlos Navarro on an ESPN fight card at Table Mountain Casino in Friant, California last June 17. Pacquiao scored a stunning seventh round KO and is now signed up to battle Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez in an October 8 pay-per-view bout that will earn Pacquiao his biggest payday of $90,000 or some P5 million.
