RODEL “Magnum Force” Mayol has folded up his training camp at the Top Rank gym in Las Vegas and is expected to arrive in Chicago today for the final week of the “The War For ‘4’” promotion headlined by the Erik Morales vs. David Diaz WBC lightweight championship match at the All State Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, USA.
Mayol will challenge Mexican champion Ulises Solis (24-1-2, 18 KOs) for the IBF junior flyweight title, one of the featured undercard match of the Top Rank Inc. promotion, which will also feature two Filipino fighters on the same card.
WBC youth super bantamweight champion Bernabe Concepcion will fight Gabriel Elizondo for the vacant NABF 122-pound title. Mayol’s former stablemate at the Stonewall Boxing Club in Lilo-an, Mercito Gesta, will finally make his US debut against Carlos Madrid for a six-rounder lightweight division action.
Mayol (23-1, 18 KOs) has been training with legendary trainer Kenny Adams, who has produced 12 world champions.
Mayol, along with the other fighters, is expected to participate in “The Run With The Champions” scheduled this Wednesday (Thursday RP time), which will be spearheaded by Morales and Diaz himself.
The run is a two- to three-mile run from the Chicago Hilton Hotel to Grant Park and around the picturesque Buckingham Fountain.
This fight is a make-or-break for Mayol, whose luck came in the form of a championship fight just a month after he joined his former managers Terry Lee Carter and Joy Ouano in the US.
It must be a dramatic experience for the once feared minimum-weight fighter, who has been struggling to book him a fight after his embattled manager Yasuo Matsuoka has suffered financial difficulties.
“This is my dream. Another world championship fight, another chance to give glory for the Philippines. I promise not to make the same mistake again (when I fought Eagle Kyowa). I have learned my lessons well and I am more comfortable at this weight division (light flyweight). I just wish for your prayers,” Mayol said in an e-mail.
Mayol has completed a total of 100 rounds of sparring sessions and is now tapering down to make the weight limit for the official weigh-in time. (RCM)
