Monday, December 18, 2006 Pugs lined up for World Cup boxing By Rommel C. Manlosa Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A MOUTH-WATERING lineup is being cooked up by the Golden Boy Promotions for the World Cup Boxing, which is set to take place in Cebu City tentatively on Feb. 25 next year.
Eight pairs — highlighted by three WBO championships, with the Philippines vs. Mexico theme –- will trade mitts in what is considered Cebu’s biggest boxing event yet, once it is a done deal.
“All (matchmaking) is done by the Golden Boy Promotions but these are all subject for negotiations,” said Cebu’s foremost boxing godfather Antonio Lopez Aldeguer in a text message to Sun.Star Cebu.
The card will feature the Philippine’s most promising boxers, five coming from the world famous ALA Gym.
“The World Cup will be the biggest thing in boxing to be ever held in the Philippines. Let’s just hope it will happen,” added Aldeguer.
Golden Boy vice president and matchmaker Eric Gomez and SGG promoter Sammy Gello-ani are both busy to put this card in place.
Gomez is now trying to sign up the Mexican champions Daniel Ponce De Leon, Johnny Gonzalez and Fernando Montiel for the event.
In the proposed lineup, De Leon will put his WBO super bantamweight belt at stake against Boholano Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista, Gonzalez will be challenged by Cebuano Gerry Peñalosa for the WBO bantamweight title and Montiel will defend his WBO super-flyweight title against Z “The Dream” Gorres.
Except for the Montiel-Gorres fight, which is already set by the WBO after the purse bidding held in Puerto Rico last Nov. 27, the two other championship fights are still being negotiated.
Beneath the three championship fights is a cast of powerful undercards led by the undefeated Alex John “Bazooka” Banal (10-0-1, 8KOs), who will meet his toughest test in Gerson “El Nene” Guerreo, a 29-year-old warrior from Mexico City.
Guerrero, a multi-titled fighter, once challenged De Leon for the WBO 122-lb belt but lost. He holds the WBO Latino Super flyweight title, owns three North American Boxing Federation titles—the flyweight, superflyweight and bantamweight and the WBC Fecarbox flyweight king—and holds a 33-7record with 25KOs.
The 23-year-old Jimrex “The Executioner” Jaca (27-3-1, 12KOs) will also appear in the card against the 24-year-old Alberto Gonzalez of Mexico City, a former International Boxing Association featherweight champ, and the California State champion who has a ring record of 14-3, 6KOs.
Newly crowned WBO Asia Pacific minimum-weight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes (19-1-3, 12KOs) is also appearing in the card against the 22-year old Gerardo Verde of Mexico City, who had a professional ring record of 15-3, 11KOs, who also hold the WBC and WBO Latino light-flyweight belts and a former WBC Latino 105lb champion.
The undefeated jr. welterweight campaigner Mark Jason Melliguen (6-0, 5KOs) is also scheduled to fight Aaron Dominguez of Hermosillo Sonora, Mexico, who parades a 5-1 win-loss record with 4KOs.
