Monday, December 22, 2008 Four Mindanao boxers gain crack at Nabo, WBO titles
FOUR of Mindanao's top professional boxers will be given a crack at the North American Boxing Organization (Nabo) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) Oriental titles in a big fight card tentatively set February 21 at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City.
World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific and African Continental vice president Leon Panoncillo said Sunday that the four Mindanao boxers who are being lined up for the Nabo/WBO titles are junior bantamweight Jundy "Pretty Boy" Maraon, 23; bantamweight Rolando "Smooth Operator" Magbanua, 23; junior flyweight Edrin "The Sting" Dapudong, 22; and miniflyweight Rommel "Little Assassin" Asenjo, 19.
Panoncillo, who was in M'lang, North Cotabato recently to watch a free-boxing event held in honor of North Cotabato Vice Governor Manny Piñol, who marked his birthday last December 16, said he will immediately make arrangements to secure Nabo/WBO sanctions for the fight.
Expected to fight for the Nabo titles against Latino opponents are Maraon in the vacant junior bantamweight division, Dapudong in the junior flyweight division and Asenjo in the miniflyweight division.
Magbanua, on the other hand, will fight for the Interim WBO Oriental bantamweight title in view of the medical leave of reigning champion Michael Domingo who was diagnosed to have Hepatitis B in the US recently.
The Nabo is one of the regional bodies of the WBO and while it is based in the US, its title fights could be held outside Continental America as long as one of the fighters is from that continent, according to Panoncillo.
Panoncillo said he will invite the president of Nabo to be at ringside during the staging of the three title fights.
Piñol, who manages the four boxers and is the president of the Braveheart Boxing Club and Braveheart Media Communications said Cebu-based boxing promoters Sammy Gelloani and Rex "Wakee" Salud are helping him stage the fight in Cebu City.
