IN his return to the ring, Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista will be feted with a huge budget promotion by the Third Force, a new boxing consortium by field professionals on Dec. 2 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala, who now works with Third Force, assured boxing fans of Bautista of a “grand return” with no less than the “full glitz and glamour, the style and class of any Las Vegas boxing promotion which the consortium is going to put up.”
“We will try to bring world class boxing up close and live to Metro Manila. That is why we put up this memorable fight card for Boom-Boom because we believe that he is the next big attraction of Philippine boxing,” Eala said during the press conference held at the Magallanes Room of Cebu Sports Club-Cebu.
The 21-year-old Bautista will put his WBO Inter-Continental super bantamweight title at stake against Mexican Antonio “Barrio” Meza in the main event to start at 12 noon on Sunday.
Televised
The promotion is expected to start at 8 a.m. It will be aired on a slightly delayed telecast over ABC-5, but it will be aired live on some theaters, close circuit and pay-per-viewing venues.
Fighting underneath is the fast-rising AJ “Bazooka” Banal, who will also defend his WBO Youth super-flyweight title against Mexican Jovanny Soto for 10 rounds.
Aside from the promotion itself, Third Force is also doing a wide marketing strategy to attract people to watch the card at the venue, which will accommodate at least 22,000 people.
“We will make sure that this fight is a must-see event. We had set up various activities for public viewing, like the training at the mall, the public weigh-in at the mall promoting the card by setting up 2 to 3 billboards and one of it is along Edsa, which is a 450-by-100 feet. We will also place posters along Roxas Blvd, where the pictures of Boom-Boom and Banal will be seen by the public. ABC 5 is also preparing a 4-week primer of the fight at one-hour per episode. There are lots of sidelights during the fight day. We are thinking of giving away a house and lot, we will have entertainment in between rounds.
And this card is a big budget promotion,” Eala said.
Eala was joined by ABC 5 owner Tony Boy Cojuango, Eric Tagle and Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim, who is among the workforce behind Third Force.
Eala, however, said that the campaign is not only limited to ALA Boy gym boxers, but to “support boxing in its entirety and development of the sports to prove to the world that Filipino boxers are globally competitive.”
“Our vision is to make Philippines a great destination for boxing. That is the commitment of our consortium,” Eala said.
New strokes
Bautista, on the other hand, promised to be a different fighter as he and his trainer Edito Villamor and mentor Antonio Lopez Aldeguer are working on his defense, developing on his jab and setting up the opponent.
“I am just happy to know that there are still a lot of people who believe in me. And I want to prove my detractors that I am the real thing,” Bautista said.
However, Aldeguer believed that Meza is a tough fight for Bautista.
With a record of 23-2, 16 KOs, Meza a southpaw, is the WBC Fecombox super bantamweight champion. Bautista, meanwhile, sport a 23-1, 17 KOs mark.
Aside from Bautista and Banal, Michael Domingo is also scheduled to fight in the card against Tanzanian Anthony Mathias for 10 rounds.
Another addition is the eight-round bout between the RP flyweight champion Rocky Fuentes against Javier Malulan, the WBO Asia Pacific Youth flyweight champion from Baguio City. (RCM)
