By Rey Danseco
SENSATIONAL fighter Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista has been assured of another inclusion on huge boxing card in the United States.
World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific chairman Leon Panoncillo relayed Golden Boy Promotions confirmation of Bautista’s inclusion in the undercard of the blockbuster fight between Marco Antonio Barrera and Rocky Juarez on May 20 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
GBP’s matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz pairs Bautista against veteran Nicaraguan fighter Roberto “El Chucky” Bonilla for 10-round non-title fight.
Bautista’s third appearance in the US mainland will be a part of an HBO telecast along with the Barrera-Juarez bout for Barrera’s WBC super featherweight title and the WBO super featherweight title match between Jorge Rodrigo Barrios and Janos Nagy.
The WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title of the Candijay town native will not be at stake, his No. 1 world ranking by WBO will.
The 31-year old hitman from Sandino City was undefeated in four bouts last year, including a no-contest against Luis Sandoval whom he defeated in a rematch a few months later.
Bonilla is coming off from a heartbreaking TKO loss to WBA interim super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero, a 5-foot-11 southpaw, in round 4 on February 2 in Panama City.
Bonilla is a former WBC Latin America flyweight king and WBO Latino super flyweight champion. Packed with 23-7 win-loss records with 14 KOs, Bonilla took his six other loses to world-rated fighters Ricardo Vargas, Cecilio Santos, Luis Alberto Perez, Evert Briceno, Joel Luna Zarate, and Adonis Rivas.
Bautista (19-0, 14 KOs) made a good impression in his US debut last year when he dispatched Felix Flores in the third round, also at Los Angeles Lakers’ homecourt on Sept. 10 and outpointing Gerardo Espinoza in their 8-round fight in his last appearance on Dec. 23 in El Cajon, California.
Newly crowned OPBF super flyweight king Z Gorres is also eyeing a slot in the GBP card. His opponent hasn’t yet known.
Bautista and Gorres are the first two Filipinos under Oscar De La Hoya’s boxing outfit. They recently inked the promotional deal in Cebu City.
