Thursday, July 05, 2007 `Boom Boom': The time has come
YOUNG Filipino boxing sensation Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista said the time has come for him to become world boxing champion.
With this is mind, Bautista said he realizes the importance of his coming fight with Daniel Ponce de Leon for the latter's World Boxing Organization (WBO) super bantamweight title on August at the Arco Arena in California.
"It's very important to me because all of the people of the Philippines want me to be world champion. This is very important fight for me. This is it, the time has come," Bautista told Brad Cooney of BoxingTalk.com in a recent interview.
Bautista, who hails from Candijay, Bohol, said he has been training hard for this fight, a bout he described as very difficult one.
"Yes this will be the most difficult fight of my career. I know Ponce De Leon is a good fighter, that's why I will train hard. I know I can handle this fight though, that's why I am training hard," the Filipino boxer told Cooney.
Bautista will be carrying a record of 23-0 with 17 knockput wins into the fight, while De Leon sports a terrifying slate of 31-1 with 28 KOs.
The Bautista-De Leon clash is one of the bouts to be featured in the card Philippines vs Mexico Cup. (CRAM)
