Monday, September 01, 2008 Boom-Boom booms By Edri K. Aznar Sun.Star Staff Reporter
FOR most fans, watching Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista in the first round against Eden “Anastesitsa” Marquez in his World Boxing Organization Intercontinental battle didn’t evoke any memories of the previous fights of the power puncher.
He was far from his previous self. He was tentative and stingy with his punches, while his defense let through some power shots.
Then the second round happened, and Bautista erased all doubts.
It was a different Bautista who fought and knocked out Marquez in the second round of their battle at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City yesterday.
Instead of slugging it out with Marquez at the start of the fight, Bautista patiently waited and only threw a few punches, while his Mexican foe was the aggressor, throwing a lot of heavy bombs.
However, in the second round Bautista’s patience paid off after he saw an opportunity and decked Marquez with a powerful right to the head.
After Marquez survived the count, Bautista quickly capitalized the hurting Marquez with a barrage of punches and a devastating left hook that hit Marquez straight to the jaw.
Referee Bruce McTavish stopped the bout and didn’t even bother to count, waving of the contest after seeing the fallen Mexican in the 1:08 mark of the second round.
And just like that, fans who were uncomfortable with Bautista’s first round performance were heard muttering, “Gitilawan ra diay ang kumo.”
ALA Promotions President Michael Aldeguer believes that Bautista has matured a lot since his first round defeat against Daniel Ponce De Leon.
“The good thing is that Boom-Boom has matured a lot since his first loss.
People were wondering why he didn’t throw punches in the first round. He was analyzing the opponent. His confidence is back,” Aldeguer told Sun.Star Cebu after the fight.
Bautista, as usual, wasn’t stingy with his words.
“Boom-Boom is back. I still have a lot to achieve. This is a new and improved Boom-Boom,” said the Boholano fighter who improved to 26-1-0 (19 KOs) while Marquez dropped to 16-4-3 (12 KOs).
Impressive
Bautista also elicited a few laughs after requesting Dyan Castillejo that he answer her questions in the post-fight interview in Cebuano.
On the other hand, World Boxing Organization mini flyweight king Donnie “Ahas” Nietes successfully defended his title in a very impressive manner.
Nietes sent WBO no. 9 rated pugilist Eddy Castro of Nicaragua to the canvass in the the 2:49 mark of the second round from a powerful right straight to the head.
Nietes also knocked down Castro in the 1st round with a right upper cut. He improved to 23-1-3 (14 KOs), while Castro fell to 12-4-1 (9 KOs).
