Saturday, August 04, 2007 Mayol guns for world title
WHILE everyone's attention is focused on the coming boxing World Cup between the Philippines and Mexico on August 11, a Filipino fighter is climbing the ring a week earlier to gun for a world boxing crown.
Rodel Mayol, the pride of Mandaue, Cebu, will trade punches with Ulises Solis of Mexico this Saturday (Sunday in Manila) for the latter's International Boxing light flyweight title.
The 12-round championship clash will be held at the All-Star Arena in Rosemont, Illinois and is one of the undercards of the Erik Morales-David Diaz title skirmish in the lightweight division.
Mayol is one of the promising Filipino boxers today and has speed and skills, but will definitely have his hands full against the power-punching Solis, considered as the finest champion in the division.
A revenge factor comes to play in the battle between little fighters as Ulises eyes to avenge the defeat of his brother Jorge to Manny Pacquiao in San Antonio, Texas.
Mayol will enter the ring armed with a record of 23-1 with 18 KOs. Solis also holds an impressive slate of 24-1 with 18 KOs.
The Mayol-Solis fight will serve as the prelude to the Philippines vs Mexico war which is scheduled at the Arco Arena in Sacramento on Aug. 11.
Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and Gerry Peñalosa will also gun for world titles in that highly-anticipated card promoted by the Golden Boy Promotions of Oscar dela Hoya.
Bautista will fight WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon, while the veteran Peñalosa takes on WBO bantamweight titlist Jhonny Gonzalez in a pair of 12-round bouts.
Other Filipino boxers seeing action are Michael Domingo, Diosdado Gabi, AJ Banal, Bert Batawang and Z Gorres.
Gabi, who is from Lasang, Davao City, was originally scheduled to face Jose Angel Beranza in a super flyweight encounter. (CRAM)
