Flores, Francisco Ready For Thai Foes

By Rey Danseco
 
FILIPINO fighters Rexon “Pison” Flores and Draian “Little Espinosa” Francisco and their Thai opponents easily made weight and will be ready to make impressive appearances with the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles are on the line tonight in Mandaluyong City.

Flores (16-3-4, 9 KOs) and Wisan Sor Suchanya (8-3-1, 2 KOs) both tipped the scale exactly the limit at 108-pound yesterday at the official weigh-in at the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) office in Makati City. They will clash for the vacant WBO Intercontinental light flyweight title.

 “This will be the biggest break for me after I relinquished my previous title and almost became a world champion in my previous fight,” said Flores. “I expect a tough fight but I can see a knockout win inside seven rounds but a victory by decision will be fine.”

The 23-year-old Flores will return in light flyweight class after quite sometime after lorded the WBO Asia Pacific flyweight throne July 2004 when he beat previously unbeaten Aree Phosuwangym of Thailand until he relinquished the title prior to his failed attempt to dethrone WBO flyweight champ Omar Narvaez last August in the cold Cordoba City in Argentina.

As he faces a WBO rated No. 7 flyweight contender, Suchanya refused to predict a knockout but he insisted to let his fists do the talking in the scheduled 12-round bout where Angeles City-based Bruce McTavish will be the third man in the ring.

Moving like former two-division world champion Luisito Espinosa, Francisco (9-0, 6 KOs) and Pichitchok Singmanassak (9-0, 4 KOs) both weight 112-lb as they meet for Flores’ previous title in what the fans expected as slam-bang confrontation of unbeaten young upstarts.

WBO Vice President for Asia Pacific Leon Panoncillo, who supervises the two title bouts, assigned American Gene Del Bianco from Washington D.C in Francisco-Pichitchok tiff as co-main event of the P1.5 worth boxing card of Gabriel “Bebot” Elorde Jr. and Mayor Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales of Mandaluyong.

The event is free to the public and the undercard is composed of three six-round bouts and a four round tiff between Silvestre Lopez, 114 lbs, and Romulo Tacuycoy, 112, will serve as curtain raiser around 7pm.

Hard-hitting bantam Raymond Sermona,117, pound takes on Michael Romulo,116 ½,; Lefty brawler Jason Egera, 120 ½, battles Longino Dimaano, 121; while Danny Pena faces veteran Acasio Simbajon, who both weight 116 lbs.

Former RP super flyweight and ex-World Boxing Council international bantamweight champion Roger Galicia was scratched in the card in the last minute after Dexter Mendoza backed out and GAB refused to approve substitute John Clifford Ranan.
Ranan has only five fights in his career and made only one fight this year after coming from layoff in 2003.