BECAUSE of ALA Promotions’ ties with the Philippine broadcast giant ABS-CBN, ALA Gym’s gem Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista will be fighting as an undercard for the Hatton-Malignaggi fight card on Nov. 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas instead of the Dec. 6 Pacquiao-De La Hoya mammoth match.
“We had an agreement with ABS-CBN to let “Boom-Boom” fight in the undercard of Hatton-Malignaggi fight,” said ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu yesterday. “We have a commitment with ABS-CBN,” he added.
According to Aldeguer, if Bautista (26-1, 19 KO’s) would have fought in the undercard of Pacquiao-De La Hoya, then there would be a big chance that his fight wouldn’t be shown in Philippine television because Solar Sports have acquired the rights to show the big boxing event. Solar Sports have ties with GMA-7, which is the rival network of ABS-CBN.
No opponent yet
Bautista doesn’t have an opponent lined up for him yet, but Aldeguer assured that his foe would be a fighter that would give him a run for his money.
“We want his opponent to be a guy that would give him a good fight. We have not yet discussed his opponent yet because of the big issue of where he would fight,” told Bautista’s handler, Aldeguer.
In the 22-year-old Boholano’s last war, he demolished Mexican Eden Marquez in the second round of their clash at the Waterfront Casino and Hotel in Cebu City.
The Dream
Meanwhile, fellow ALA star Z “The Dream” Gorres will be the main event of the Dec. 5 Friday Night boxing, the night before the Pacquiao-De La Hoya mega battle.
Gorres (28-2-2, 15 KO’s) will have a difficult assignment as he will be fighting the aging, but dangerous Jose “Carita” Lopez (38-7-2, 32 KO’s) for the interim World Boxing Organization super flyweight crown.
Gorres was supposed to be seeing action against Lopez in the Hatton-Malignaggi fight card.
Aldeguer is also planning on including WBO Oriental bantam weight champion Micheal Domingo alongside Gorres.
“We are looking at Micheal to fight at the Dec. 5 card.”
On the other hand, AJ “Bazooka” Banal, who was originally mapped to fight in the Dec. 5 card, will not have his comeback fight in the US, but here in his hometown in Cebu City sometime next year. (EKA)
