Santisima unfazed by underdog tag, eyes shock victory

FIGHTING for the first time outside the confines of home in a world championship fight against one of the division’s best is quite intimidating for a young promising fighter like Jeo Santisima.

The 23-year-old Santisima, however, doesn’t feel any pressure at all in the biggest fight of his career, a world championship fight against World Boxing Organization (WBO) super bantamweight king Emanuel Navarrete in one of the main fights of the Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder cardon Feb. 23, 2020 (PHLtime) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I feel great. I don’t feel any pressure at all. I don’t listen to what people say. It feels just like any other fight,” Santisima told SunStar Cebu.

Santisima and Navarrette both weighed in at 122 pounds, the super bantamweight limit.

Santisima is undoubtedly a huge underdog but he wants to shock everybody by beating Navarrete.

“I’ll just do my thing and do my best,” he said. ”It’s natural that he’s favored because he’s the champion. But we’ll see. I won’t take any chances and if an oppening comes, I’ll go for the kill.”

Santisima has seen some flaws in Navarrete’s game and he wants to capitalize on them .

“I believe he’s weak in the midsection,” he said. “I also need to watch out forhis left.”

Santisima, the No. 5 ranked super bantamweight in the WBO, was handpicked by Navarrete as his voluntary opponent.

Santisima is coming off an impressive stoppage win over former regional champion Rene Dacquel.

The 25-year-old Navarrette is one of boxing’s busiest champions. He had four title defenses, and won all by knockout.

Santisima is 19-2 with 16 knockouts, while Navarrete is 30-1 with 26 knockouts. (EKA)

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