By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Golden Boy Promotions vice president and international matchmaker Eric Gomez says Oscar De La Hoya’s world class outfit “is behind Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista one hundred percent” despite his shocking first round knockout at the hands of WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in the World Cup in Sacramento last Sunday.
In an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, Gomez said “He (Bautista) signed a new, three-year deal with us and we are going to honor the deal.”
Gomez said Bautista faced “maybe the toughest guy in that division. Ponce De Leon is very dangerous, he has a big heart and a good chin but ‘Boom Boom’ is young and has a lot of room for improvement and we will be behind him. “
Gomez disclosed they are going to “bring him back in a couple of tune-up fights and then we’ll go after one of the other champions.”
One of the top executives at Golden Boy Promotions, Gomez said they were going to get “the biggest possible fights” for the other winners in the World Cup including newly crowned WBO champion Gerry Penalosa, Z “The Dream” Gorres, AJ “Bazooka” Banal, Michael Domingo and Diosdado Gabi.
Gomez said that Banal was “obviously he is very young (18) and we don’t want to make any mistakes. We think he has a bright future and we are going to bring him up the right way. When he’s ready for a title we’ll be there supporting him and getting him that shot at the title.”
Gomez revealed that since Gorres is now ranked No. 3 super flyweight in the IBF he would “push for an eliminator for the mandatory (challenger) position right away.”
