Tuesday, May 08, 2007 RP's ‘Boom Boom’ in for tougher battle ahead By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
AFTER surviving some scary moments and pulling through against erstwhile unbeaten Sergio Medina of Argentina Saturday, young Filipino ring gladiator Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista proved to all and sundry he is now ripe for a much bigger fight ahead and that is no less than a shot at the world title.
He is, not just because his fight with the tough Medina was officially listed by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) as a super bantamweight eliminator, with the victor earning the right to meet the current champion Juan Ponce de Leon of Mexico
Bautista, given his performance, simply has the punch and the heart to get a crack at De Leon's scalp and his belt anytime, anywhere.
Scoring two knockdowns against Medina, who has never been beaten entering that fight in 28 bouts, was an outstanding performance.
The 20-year-old Bautista, who resembles a young Muhammad Ali, capped his unanimous decision victory by surviving Medina's own offensive, especially in the seventh round when the Filipino was reeling against the ropes from a barrage of blows.
No ordinary fighter would survive that Medina onslaught. Only Bautista, a courageous young man with a heart of a lion.
Bautista's handlers call it pure heart when he came back from that seventh round knockdown to send Medina on the seat of his pants in the 11th round.
Medina couldn't mount a rally after the knockdown and ran out of steam down the stretch.
When it was all over, Bautista, flashing his trademark smile, celebrated another victory that raised his record to 23-0 with 17 KOs.
The victory also brought elation to Oscar dela Hoya, Bautista's promoter who later in the night lost his super welterweight crown to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by split decision.
Next in line will be De Leon, the same fighter who beat Gerry "Boy" Peñalosa months back.
