By Rey Danseco
ELECTED officials from Tagbilaran City and the island province of Bohol, Philippines will bankroll about 2.5 million pesos to stage two World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific championship bouts on one card next month.
Bohol Sports Commission chair and board member Dionisio Balite have expressed their willingness to put up P1.5 million for the second title defense of unbeaten bantamweight Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista and the title quest of Philippine No. 1 super featherweight Caesar Amonsot.
On the other hand, Mayor Dan Neri Lim of Tagbilaran City and Governor Erico Aumentado of Bohol also assured to shell out P500,000 each for the card, which has full support from Antonio L. Aldeguer, boxing patron from Cebu and the handler of Bautista and Amonsot.
If plans push through, the first double international title fights in Bohol will be held either on Nov. 12 or 19 at the CPG Sports Complex in Tagbilaran City.
Bautista, teenage sensation from Candijay town, became a household name after seeing action in a much-publicized card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Sept. 10 along with Manny Pacquiao and Brian “Filipino-Hawaiian Punch” Viloria.
Bautista, ranked No. 2 in the world by the WBO, knocked out Colombian Felix Flores in the third round before Viloria captured the WBC light flyweight belt from Mexico’s Eric Ortiz and Manny Pacquiao annihilated another Mexican Hector Velazquez in the 6th round in a Home Box Office-televised bouts.
Bautista has defended the regional belt once against South African Vuyisile Bebe after he captured it by knocking out Saensak Singmanasak of Thailand in Mandaue City on Aug. 17, 2004.
The WBO Asia Pacific No. 7 contender Amonsot, a native of Tagbilaran City, will challenge WBO Asia Pacific super featherweight king Victor Mausul of Indonesia.
The Amonsot-Mausul bout was originally set last Sept. 29 in Jakarta but promoters opted to cancel it to give way to Ramadan.
