By Ronnie Nathanielsz
World Boxing Council light flyweight champion Edgar says he’ll take a nice vacation before facing Filipino southpaw Juanito Rubillar in the seventh defense of his title.
That's what well-known boxing writer and TV reporter James Blears suggested in a telephone conversation with insidesports.ph, Manila Standard and Viva Sports after Sosa retained his title against the tough No. 7 ranked Sonny Boy Jaro of the Philippines over the weekend in Mexico City before over 12,000 fight fans.
Sosa who out-boxed a game Jaro to successfully defend his title and recovered from a ninth round knockdown said after the fight that he would be ready for the 31 year old Rubillar after a vacation and hopes to equal Jorge Arce’s record of eight title defenses in the light flyweight division.
Sosa commended Jaro saying “he never gave up as a true Asian fighter does” and indicated that he expects Rubillar to be “another tough Filipino.”
Rubillar fought Arce twice and lost by twelve round decisions, but the decision in the second fight was controversial.
Rubillar earned the mandatory title shot by scoring a split decision victory over former world champion Omar Nino Romero in a title eliminator last June 14 in which judges Steve Morrow 114-113 and Rey Danseco 116-114 scored the fight for Rubillar but Mexican judge Herminio Cuevas Collazo had Omar Nino Romero the winner by an unbelievable 118-111 margin.
Even WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman conceded that Rubillar deserved the decision.
Rubillar who is managed by Arlene Elorde, wife of Gabriel “Bebot” Elorde Jr realizes that this is his last chance to win a world title and is determined to achieve the feat.
Rubillar is the reigning Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation champion and has a record of 46-10-7 with 22 knockouts. He won the title with a 7th round TKO over Indonesia’s Irfan Ogah on October 13, 2006 and defended the title successfully against Japan’s Ken Nakajima who retired after suffering a 5th round knockout in Japan on June 24, 2007.
