THE LIFELONG dream of Bert “Ninja” Batawang will happen today as he treads the ring for the most important fight in his 17-year boxing career.
The Cebuano fighter will challenge Mexican IBF light flyweight champion Ulises Solis today at the Auditorio Benito Juarez in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Both Batawang and Solis passed the weigh-in yesterday with the Filipino challenger tipping the scales at 107.3 pounds while the champion at 107.5 pounds.
Fighting for the world championship was the reason the hard punching Batawang took boxing as a profession, but when he got frustrated in 1995, he hung his gloves for five years. Today, the world title fight remains his reason for his return.
“This is my lifelong dream. I want to fight a world championship fight and become a champion. This is the reason I became a boxer and this is also the reason I came back after five years of retirement,” Batawang told Sun.Star Cebu before he left for Mexico.
At 35 years old, Batawang wants to give the Philippines its fifth world title this year following the heels of IBF minimum-weight champion Florante Condes, IBF/IBO flyweight king Nonito Donaire Jr., WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Peñalosa and WBO minimum-weight titlist Donnie Nietes.
Batawang had trained hard for this fight, which was canceled three times before it was finally put into reality.
Batawang’s fight plan is to go hard and put too much pressure on the champion and end the fight in a knockout fashion.
“I won’t rely on a decision. I’ll go hard and put pressure on him. Eight rounds will be the most,” added Batawang.
Packing a menacing record of 50-6, 34 KOs, Batawang is hungry for this fight as he believed that Solis (25-1-2, 19KOs) is no match for his powers.
Guadalajara is known to be unfriendly to visitors. It was here where Luisito Espinosa wrested the WBC featherweight belt from Alejandro Gonzales in 1996. No Filipino has since then accomplished a similar feat.
Aside from winning the world title, Batawang wants to continue the dominance of the Filipinos over the Mexicans in the recent year and avenge the loss of Rodel Mayol who was-ill prepared when he challenged Solis.
Solis, on the other hand, has only two missions for this fight, keep the belt and show to the world that he is the best light flyweight champion of the world and count Batawang as his second Filipino victim. (RCM)
