Wednesday, October 17, 2007 ‘Changed’ Bautista to fight Mexican in Dec. 2
A DIFFERENT Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista will be seen when he faces Mexican Antonio Meza for the World Boxing Organization Intercontenental super bantamweight championship on Dec. 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.
The 21-year-old Cebuano, dubbed as the heir apparent of Manny Pacquiao, said that he has learned his lesson during his failed attempt for the WBO crown against Daniel Ponce de Leon in Sacramento, Californiia last August.
“The best thing I learned during fight against Ponce De Leon was to use my brain. You really have to be smart in boxing. And this is what I am going to show against Antonio Meza on Dec. 2,” said Bautista during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum yesterday.
Despite that setback to Ponce de Leon, the pride of Candijay, Bohol, expressed confidence and has shown his hunger to start anew and prove he is still a worthy challenger to the WBO title.
“I will show the people that I am still fighting and I am still hungry for a win and I am preparing hard for this fight,” said Bautista, who was accompanied in the weekly forum by manager Michael Aldeguer.
Former PBA commisssioner Noli Eala said that the coming blockbuster card is a consortium among sports enthusiasts Tony Boy Cojuangco of ABC-5, the Araneta Group of Companies, the Golden Boy Promotion and Michael Aldeguer.
“They are the sports enthusiasts, who put up this joint project because they believed in Boom-Boom Bautista and AJ Banal,” said Eala.
The card, which will be aired live on ABC-5 as early as 10 a.m., also features AJ Banal against Jovanny Sotto also of Mexico in another 12-round WBO Youth super flyweight title fight and Michael Domingo against Anthony Mathias of Tanzania, Africa in a 10-round bantamweight bout.
Bautista is holding a 23-1 with 17 KOs professional record, while the 24-year-old Mexican Mezo is 23-2 with 16 KOs. (FCC)
