By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Promising super featherweight Joel De La Cruz battles former WBA super bantamweight champion Somsak Sithchatchawal in the main supporting bout of a big fight card at the Cebu Coliseum on September 14 at 9:00 a.m.
Staged by well-known promoter Sammy Gello-ani in cooperation with Viva Sports, Tanduay Rhum and the Cebu Grand Hotel, the Main Event will feature WBO Oriental bantamweight champion Michael Domingo in his first title defense against former world champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin.
The fights will be telecast “live” in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and will provide the Philippines an opportunity to showcase its boxing talent. It will also be telecast over the cable channel Viva Prime which is carried by Destiny Cable.
De La Cruz who has a record of 15-4 with 3 knockouts won the Philippine Boxing Federation super featherweight title with a unanimous ten round decision over Dondon Lapuz but lost by a seventh round knockout to former world champion Malcolm Klassen in South Africa.
Klassen himself won by a third round stoppage over former WBC featherweight champion Manuel “Mantecas” Medina in an IBF super featherweight title eliminator last week in South Africa in a huge triple eliminator promotion of well-known South African promoter Branco Milenkovic.
Somsak who has an impressive ring record of 57-3-1 with 44 knockouts is a hard-hitting, 31 year old southpaw who won the WBA super bantamweight title with a spectacular 10th round TKO over France’s Mahyar Monshipour in the “Fight of the Year.”
Somsak scored an unanimous decision over Zoel Fidal of Indonesia in his last fight on July 11 this year but prior to that lost by an 11th round TKO to countryman Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym in a WBA super bantamweight title eliminator on March 31.
In what promises to be an exciting featherweight bout Rey Labao who is on an impressive comeback with a record of 15-1 with 11 knockouts clashes with Amor Tinio while promising flyweight “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona takes on Edwin Tumbaga and Julius Alcos faces Nelson Llanos in a light flyweight bout.
Undefeated female boxer Genevie Tabas-tabas spices up the card when she clashes with Thailand’s Usanakorn who also hasn’t lost in her brief career in an eight round flyweight bout.