by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Colombian challenger Jorlie Estrada has vowed to knock out WBO minimum weight champion Merlito "Tiger" Sabillo when they clash in the main event of "Pinoy Pride XXI" at the plush Solaire vResort Hotel and Casino in the country's "Entertainment City' along Manila Bay.
Estrada who arrived after a long and tiring journey on Monday night even picked the round in which he would KO Sabillo, stating “I think I will win by knockout in the seventh round" in an appearance at the PSA Forum.
Trainer Edito "Ala" Villamor played down the prediction of Estrada stating that Sabillo had trained hard and is in great shape for his first title defense before his countrymenand is deertmined to put on an explosive performance.
Villamor revealed they had taught Sabillo to improve his defense to complement his
aggressive, hard-hitting style.
The Colombian's boasts don't actually match his record since he has a mere 5 knockouts in 16 wins
with 6 losses compared to the undefeated Sabillo whose record is 21-0 with 11 knockouts.
Sabillo won the title with a rousing 8th round TKO over highly-rated Colombian Luis De La Rosa in
an interim title fight in Colombia last March after dropping him twice earlier in the fight. Sabillo was
elevated to full champion after Moises Fuentes relinquished his title and moved up in weight to challenge
WBO light flyweight champiomn Donnie Nietes who retakned his title in a close majority draw.
Estrada who is ranked No. 6 said he had trained for almost three months and is not bothered by the fact that
the fight is being held in the Philippines.