Bautista Going To Look For The KO at The Waterfront
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Indonesia’s tough super bantamweight champion Marangin "Dinamita" Marbun (19-5-1, 7 KO’s)and his trainer Bambang Supadi have both predicted that the Indonesian fighter will knock out promising Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista (26-2, 19 KO’s)in their WBC International featherweight interim title fight which will be the main event in the “Hamon Sa Kampeon” fight card at the plush Waterfront Hotel and Casino on Friday.
In a pre-fight press conference of the exciting card which will be telecast by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN over Studio 23 and beamed “live” to Thailand beginning at 6:00 p.m. the hard-hitting Marbun and trainer Supadi predicted Bautista would be knocked out in the tenth round of their twelve round title fight.
Bautista who is returning to the ring after an eleven month layoff following surgery for a fractured bone in his left wrist which was replaced by a piece of bone taken from his hip and grafted onto his wrist, merely laughed off the Indonesian"s boast saying “the fight will not last ten rounds because I will knock him out before then."
Both Marbun and Supadi gave Bautista credit for being “a good boxer” but said they held no fear of the former WBO super bantamweight world title challenger.
Trainer Edito “ Ala ” Villamor told BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that Bautista had been working out for the past four months in an effort to get back into shape and that he had trained rigorously for the past two months at the famed ALA Gym of respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer.
Aldeguer’s son Michael who has assumed the position of President of ALA Promotions said it remains to be seen just how well Bautista has recovered from the surgery that had hampered him in his recent fights including his disappointing eighth round unanimous decision loss to Heriberto Ruiz.
Aldeguer said “Boom Boom’s future depends on the outcome of this fight. Not only must he win, he must win impressively.” A big return to the ring by Bautista is expected to open the doors to another fight in Manila before a return to the US either under Golden Boy Promotions or Top Rank.
Trainer Villamor revealed that Bautista hadn’t fully tested his left and held back in sparring but was confident he would be fine because modern technology and the attention of specialists had guaranteed full recovery.
Villamor said the most important aspect was his mental condition and added that Bautista was “hungry to fight and win impressively and was mentally focused on the fight” against Marbun who has won his last eight fights including five this year.
The well-known trainer also revealed that fighting as a featherweight, Bautista will punch even harder than before.
Southpaw Czar Amonsot ( 19 W-3 L-1 D, 11 KO’s) who battles Jesus Muzaka Singwancha (16W-7L, 8 KO’S) , the reigning WBO Asia-Pacific jr. lightweight champion from the Congo who now fights out of Thailand, said he knows he has to recover from a disappointing showing in his last fight and is determined to do just that.
Promising Marjun Yap (11 W – 2 L, 5 KO’s) of Cagayan de Oro will face Pramuansak Posuwan Kokietgym ( 45 W-3 L-1 D, 24 KO’S) , a world ranked Thai who lost in a battle for the vacant WBO super flyweight title against Puerto Rico’s Jose “Carita” Lopez who lost the crown in his first defense against 18 year old Filipino southpaw “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona.
Yap was unfazed by Pramuansak’s reputation as a three-time Olympian, winner of one gold, one silver and one bronze medal in three Asian Games and five gold medals in six Southeast Asian Games. The former Thai world No.1 said he is determined to redeem himself and hopefully earn another world title shot in the future.
Jason Pagara (18W – 1L, 10 KO’s) faces another rugged Thai Decha Bakluaygym (29 W-9 L-3 D, 24 KO’s). It’s a big test for the 18 year old Pagara who needs to win impressively to earn a ticket to a stint in the US .
