By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Three-time Boxing Writers Association of America “Trainer of the Year” award winner Freddie Roach says Filipino challenger Rodel Mayol is in “great shape and looks good” as he prepares to face undefeated Ivan Caledron for the WBO light flyweight title at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Manila Time.
Roach said Mayol has been working very hard at the Wild Card Gym and Calderon is likely to have a rough time against the talented Filipino who twice fought for the world title and lost because of problems that affected his training.
Even conditioning expert Alex Ariza said that although he hasn’t been working with Mayol he has seen him work out at the gym and told us he is training very hard.
The Mayol-Calderon bout with be the main supporting bout on the top-class card headlined by the WBO welterweight title fight between Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey with Filipino boxing icon and “Hero of Asia” Manny Pacquiao likely to be at ringside to provide moral support to Mayol.
Calderon who has a record of 32-0 with 6 knockouts is confident of victory even though he told T.K. Stewart of Boxing Scene that he barely knows anything about Mayol. “All I really know about him” said Calderon “is that he’s a righty, he’s four inches taller than me and I’ve heard that he has a very good left handed punch.”
Mayol has a record of 25-3 with 19 knockouts and has been trained by Pacquiao’s longtime friend and Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez.
Mayol had IBF champion Ulises Solis in trouble before he got careless and walked into a punch and lost by an 8th round technical knockout on August 4, 2007. Before the Ulises title fight Mayol complained to us that he hardly got any decent sparring in Las Vegas and was forced to spar with stable-mate, super bantamweight Mercito Gesta while his manager at that time Terry Carter, an American who owned the Stonewall boxing gym in Cebu hardly gave him any good food and that he existed mostly on salad.
When he lost to Japan-based Thai Eagle Kyowa in what was considered a somewhat questionable decision in a WBC minimum weight title fight he had problems with his Japanese manager who abandoned him prior to the fight.
Mayol has reportedly drawn strength from those setbacks and the former OPBF champion who dominated the minimum weight in Asia is expected to turn his career around with the help and inspiration of Pacquiao.
However, he is certain to face a tough task against the little southpaw Calderon who is a slick boxer but lacks punching power which may be Mayol’s biggest asset.
During the final pre-fight press conference Mayol recalled that this is his third time fighting for a title adding "I'm going to try my best to win this fight. Everyone knows Ivan Calderon is a good boxer but many say his fights are boring. I will ensure that this fight will not be boring."
Calderon responded "he may say my fights are boring because you are used to seeing boxers hit and I'm never getting hit. I know its going to be a good fight. A lot of people say he'll have Manny Pacquiao in his corner but I'' have the whole country of Puerto Rico in mine."
