By Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo
This is the fight Rodel Mayol wanted. And on March 24, the former WBC jr. flyweight champion finally gets his crack at WBA flyweight king Hernan "Tyson" Marquez in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico.
Mayol has been training in Cebu, and was spotted sparring by the Philippine Star with WBA bantamweight champ Koki Kameda, who is in town with brother Daiki training at Wakee Salud's RWS Gym for their own upcoming bouts.
"I'm more comfortable and I feel stronger at 112," Mayol told me several months ago after climbing to the flyweight division. "My power, speed and stamina is better at 112, because I don't have to cut down as much in weight and it won't drain me as much. Even after 10 rounds I feel good, unlike before, after reducing so much weight, you'll feel weaker in the later rounds," he added.
The Marquez bout was initially proposed back in June of 2011, which Mayol said he turned down due to lack of preparation time. Mayol has since won two bouts, the last of which was a convincing 4th round TKO win at the San Manuel Casino in Highland, California over Ernie Marquez last October.
Mayol has a golden opportunity in front of him to replicate not only Sonny Boy Jaro's title win in Thailand las weekend over champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, but also replicate wins by countrymen Nonito Donaire, Jr., and Richie Mepranum who are responsible for Marquez's two career losses.
Mayol likes his chances against Marquez, and is a proven road warrior with a lot of his previous title fight held at his opponent's backyard.
Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo is a prolific boxing writer. Follow him onTwitter, and for an archive of his work click here. You e-mail him at DennisGuillermo2@yahoo.com
