By Rey Danseco
GABRIEL “Bebot” Elorde Jr aims to stage another big boxing event in Manila early next year.
Elorde tendered his offer to Brian Viloria’s Mexican conqueror Omar Nino Romero to put his World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight title on the line against the best Filipino bet in the division, Juanito Rubillar.
The eldest son the Hall of Fame former world super featherweight champion Flash Elorde coursed his offer to WBC president Jose Sulaiman in Mexico.
Considered as the No. 1 boxing promoter in the Philippines, Elorde guaranteed Romero a $60,000 purse (roughly three million pesos) and four roundtrip airplane tickets just to make his second choice defense, and defending for the first time in Asia.
Elorde plans to stage the 12-round title bout on the last week of February as it will be Rubillar’s realization of another world title shot.
Rubillar was the top ranked contender and mandated challenger in the WBC 108-pound crown until Viloria’s American handler Gary Gittelsohn successfully collaborated with WBC executive secretary Mauricio Sulaiman, son of the WBC president, to prevent his shot against Viloria early this year.
The young Sulaiman denied Rubillar’s mandatory status when he believed Gittelsohn’s alibi that Viloria’s broken right hand injury from his successful defense against Mexican Jose Antonio Aguirre in February had lingering effect. In result, the WBC ordered the Paranaque-trained fighter to fight in WBC interim light flyweight title bout against Wandee Singwancha last July 18 in Bangkok, Thailand.
But as soon as the deal was done in Rubillar-Singwancha, the WBC and Gittelsohn announced that Viloria had recovered the injury in his fourth metacarpal and can defend against lowly-rated Romero last Aug. 10.
Elorde stated that Rubillar remains a hungry fighter and determined to become a WBC champion.
In his last fight on October 13, Rubillar scored a smashing 7th round TKO win over the region’s top ranked contender Irfan Ogah of Indonesia to capture the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) light flyweight title.
The victory, according to Elorde has kept Rubillar in contention for the WBC title shot after losing the opportunity for the crack when Singwancha beat him on points.
“Rubillar remains in the top 10 and very much qualified for a (WBC title) crack,” said Elorde referring to Rubillar’s current position as No. 6 contender under Romero.
Rubillar (40-10-7, 18 KOs) is a 29-year old southpaw from Mati in Davao City who fought for IBF minimumweight title, WBC interim light flyweight championship twice and regular WBC light flyweight championship.
Romero dethroned Viloria and defended the title in their out-right rematch last Nov. 18 when he figured in a draw despite taking two knockdowns in rounds 5 and 9 on the undercard of Pacquiao-Morales Grand Finale in Las Vegas.
Romero is a year older than Rubillar and has a record of 24-2-2, with 10 knockouts in his campaign since 1995.