Bautista to give up WBC belt

REY “Boom-Boom” Bautista will give up his WBC international featherweight title as he won’t be able to defend it against Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit this month.

Bautista won his belt with an impressive seventh-round stoppage against the tough Indonesian Maragin Marbun last Oct. 16 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City. But after that bout, he had to stop training to rest his injured left wrist.

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“There is pain in his (Bautista) left wrist but it’s nothing serious. He just aggravated it a little. He needs a little rest,” ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer told Sun.Star Cebu.

Because Bautista won’t be able to fight this month against Pleonchit, he will relinquish his interim WBC International featherweight title.

Aldeguer found out early last month that Bautista, 23, hurt his left wrist and was hesitant in throwing a left hook when he did the punch mitts with trainer Franklin Albia.

After learning that Bautista aggravated his surgically-repaired left wrist, Aldeguer immediately had the Boholano fighter’s hand checked. Luckily, the X-ray results turned out negative for any fracture but Bautista’s surgeon Dr. Tammy Dela Rosa advised him to rest his left wrist for a few months.

Aldeguer said that Bautista may return to the ring by late May or early June and fight for a regional title against a veteran Latin fighter.

“For now we’ll just have to wait and see. It depends on the progress of his left wrist,” said Aldeguer.