Saturday, May 05, 2007 Bautista 2-1 favorite v. Medina
BOHOLANO boxing sensation Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista is seen as the heavy favorite over undefeated Sergio Manuel Media of Argentina in their 12-round WBO Super-bantamweight title eliminator encounter this Sunday.
The bout is the first televised fight of the pay-per-view event “The World Awaits,” which features boxing’s most popular fighter Oscar De La Hoya against the world’s best-pound-for-pound fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr. this Saturday (Sunday RP time) at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Bautista, according to the MGM Sportsbook, is a 2-1 favorite over Medina. Bautista is picked as -200 favorite while Medina is +160 underdog.
This means a person needs to bet $200 on Bautista to win $100 while a $100 bet on Medina will win $160. Although unbeaten in 28 fights and winning 22 by way of knockout, Medina is deemed the underdog and many boxing pundits in America call this bout a mismatch because the Argentinian has never fought outside his home country.
World title
“I’m glad with how the oddmakers rated Bautista, this only means that he already carved his name among the American boxing fans. That’s a good development,” Bautista’s Filipino promoter Sammy Gello-ani said yesterday.
Aside from the Bautista-Medina fight, the other bout that will be shown on pay-per-view telecast worldwide is the Rocky Juarez vs. Jose Hernandez 10-round encounter prior to the much anticipated De La Hoya-Mayweather Jr. bout.
A win by Bautista will earn him his long awaited shot for the world title against Mexican slugger Daniel Ponce De Leon.
Medina however, may prove boxing pundits wrong, as the 22 year old Argentina super-bantamweight champion is also looking to put a dent on Bautista’s unblemished record.
Before the pay-per-view events, Cebuano AJ “Bazooka” Banal will fight Mexican Jose Alberto “El Topo” Rosas for 10 rounds.
This fight is widely seen as Banal’s steps to boxing glory but the superb credentials of Rosas of 25-2, 22KOs could pose an obstacle to the Barangay Ermita, Cebu City born fighter.
ALA Boys mentor Antonio Aldeguer promised a stunning performance of Filipino warriors, saying they trained to go for a knockout. (RCM)
