REY Caitom Jr. knows that time is of the essence in his dream of becoming a world champion. At 33 years old, Caitom Jr. wants to reach his goal the quickest way possible and a perfect way to improve his stock is by fighting for a world title from a minor but respectable organization against a credible opponent in one-time world title challenger ArAr Andales.
“He’s a fighter and he’s way younger than me. He’s also a former world challenger for the WBA (World Boxing Association). This should be a good fight,” Caitom Jr. told SunStar Cebu.
Caitom Jr. and Andales will fight for the vacant World Boxing Foundation (WBF) minimumweight belt in the co-main event of Big Yellow Promotions’ “Fight Night IV” on March 9, 2020 at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu.
“No (he won’t be my hardest opponent). He’s just another opponent for me. Yes, this is a very big and important fight for me so that I can achieve my goal of becoming a world champion, which is one of my reasons for coming back to professional boxing,” he said.
Caitom Jr. won three straight fights since his comeback in 2018 after a 12-year hiatus. He beat Indonesians Silem Serang and Frans Damur Palue, and Thai Khachonsak Pothong. Andales should be a good gauge for him if he is ready for the big fights at the 105-pound weight division.
The 20-year-old Andales is a former WBA Asia minimumweight champion and fought for the WBA world title, losing to Thammanoon Niyomtrong by technical decision in 2019.
Caitom Jr. is 9-0-1 with four knockouts, while Andales is 10-2 with two knockouts.
Caitom Jr. believes this fight is his stepping stone for a bigger fight against any of the four current world champions of boxing’s main sanctioning bodies.
“Any of the champions in my weight division will do as long as I’m fighting for a world championship,” he said.
The division’s lineal champion Wanheng Menayothin is the current champion of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Niyomtrong is the current WBA beltholder, Pedro Taduran currently holds the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt and Puerto Rican Wilfredo Mendez holds the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title. (EKA)