By Rey Danseco
CALIFORNIA-BASED Filipino boxer Diosdado Gabi postponed his planned homecoming with family and friends in Davao City, Philippines to make another ring appearance on September 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The pride of Lansang in Davao City is booked to fight Jose German Cruz of Mexico in the card of Top Rank, Inc. at the Orleans Hotel and Casino.
The fight is set for eight rounds in super flyweight as one of six pairs of bouts, featuring two 10-round confrontations.
Gabi is coming of a successful comeback from his failed attempt to win the International Boxing Federation flyweight title after losing with eight round technical knockouts at the hands of unbeaten champ Vic Darchinyan in March.
Gabi, ranked No. 6 by IBF and No. 12 by the World Boxing Organization, took only 96 seconds to annihilate former world champion Mauricio Pastrana of Colombia in the undercard of the Brian Viloria-Omar Nino Romero main event at the same arena Orleans Arena last August 10.
The 26-year old Filipino has packed with impressive 27-3-1 win-loss-draw records with 20 coming by way of knockouts while Cruz has respectable stock of 16-3-2, 13 KOs.
After Gabi’s win over Pastrana, he plans to come home to see his family. Gabi regularly training under Manny Pacquiao’s guru, Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.
According to Top Rank web site, the card includes two anticipated action-packed meetings between once-beaten lightweight Kid Diamond (22-1-1, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas against Jairo Ramirez (20-2, 7 KOs) of Mexico and the clash between middleweight Jose Luis Zertuche (19-2-2, 14 KOs) of Mexico and Fulgencio Zuniga (17-2-1, 16 KOs) fo Colombia.
