By Ronnie Nathanielsz
The eagerly awaited Philippines-Mexico World Cup of boxing has been postponed until after the super showdown between Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya and undefeated Floyd Mayweather set for May 5 in Las Vegas.
Well known promoter Sammy Gello-ani said the World Cup was being pushed back because they were unable to reach an agreement with the managers of WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon and bantamweight champion Johnny Gonzales in time for the original March 4 date.
Gello-ani indicated they will make sure the World Cup is held in the Philippines as planned in the middle of the year. This will also enable the promoters to accommodate De La Hoya who wants to help promote the major boxing event in the Philippines as well as be here for the fights themselves.
De La Hoya could not be available for the promotional efforts as well as the fights in March since he would be deep in training for his classic showdown with Mayweather.
Gello-ani told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that because of the postponement he will concentrate on the WBO super flyweight title fight between Z "The Dream" Gorres and Mexican champion Fernando Montiel which will take place in Cebu City on February 24.
Gello-ani disclosed that international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz will negotiate title eliminators for Bautista against No.2 super bantamweight contender Sergio Medina and former world super flyweight champion Gerry Penalosa against WBO No.1 bantamweight Irene Pacheco. Winners would then be in line for title fights as mandatory challengers.
Bautista, the WBO No.1 super bantamweight was scheduled to battle reigning champion Daniel Ponce De Leon for the 122 pound crown in the World Cup showdown.
Both Gorres and Bautista are currently training at the Wild Card Gym of celebrated trainer Freddie Roach who was scheduled to return to Los Angeles today after a brief vacation during which he joined Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao and Erik "El Terrible" Morales in shooting a commercial for San Miguel Beer.
