IT WAS too good to be true.
One again, veteran ALA fighter Michael Domingo was deprived of another world title shot as undefeated International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight champion Yonnhy Perez opted to fight a different opponent in his next title defense.
After being rejected by World Boxing Organization bantamweight king Fer-nando Montiel for a potential Feb. 13 world championship bout, Domingo was yet again declined, for the second occasion this year, as the 31-year-old Perez chose unbeaten youngster Abner Mares as his next challenger on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“The fight is off,” said Domingo’s handler, ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer, in an interview by Sun.Star Cebu yesterday. “Mi-chael was disappointed because this was his dream,” he added.
Threat
Aldeguer believes that the 30-year-old Domingo will continue to have difficulty fighting for a coveted world title because he tends to upset his opponents because of his deceiving record of 39 wins, 14 losses and two draws with 17 knockouts.
“Michael is a hard opponent to pick. A lot of champions shy away because he could be a threat,” said Aldeguer. “He has nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
An example of a talented fighter that Domingo defeated was up-and-coming fighter Miguel Roman, who he defeated by unanimous decision in 2007 in the Boxing World Cup in California. Roman was undefeated at that time with 22 wins and 16 knockouts.
Solution
Although Domingo lost his chance of fighting for a world championship twice, Aldeguer has thought of a solution to achieve Domingo’s dream, but this time the champion won’t be able to turn him down.
“We are looking at a title eliminator fight. So that he will be the mandatory challenger. We are looking at that approach. We are trying to work it out with the IBF,” said Aldeguer.
If Domingo, who is ranked 11th in the IBF, will be in a title eliminator, he will face any of the top 10 fighters ranked in the bantamweight division. The winner will become the No.1 ranked fighter and will become the mandatory challenger of the winner between Perez and Mares.