REY "Boom Boom" Bautista showed why he is a bright prospect for a world boxing crown Saturday when he crushed dangerous Giovanni Andrade of Brazil via a fourth-round TKO (technical knockout) victory in a super bantamweight clash at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.
The 20-year-old Bautista battered Andrade with body shots in the third round and the Brazilian refused to continue fighting when the fourth round bell sounded.
The victory raised Bautista's record to 21-0 with 16 KOs, while the defeat dropped Andrade's slate to 52-10 with 43 KOs.
Bautista's promoter, Oscar dela Hoya of the Golden Boy Promotions, had earlier prdicted a victory for his prized fighter.
It was the first time that Bautista, the WBO No. 1 super bantamweight contender, saw action following his spectacular third round destruction of Nicaraguan Roberto Bonilla last May 20 in Los Angeles.
The Bautista-Andrade fight was originally set in the undercard of the Marco Antonio Barrera-Rocky Juarez rematch last September 16 in Las Vegas, but the Candijay, Bohol fighter withdrew from the match after sustaining an injury during training.
Before this, Bautista was scheduled to clash with Mexican Alejandaro Felix Montiel underneath the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar Larios duel last July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum, but was forced pull out of the bout due to a flu. (CRAM)
