FORMER ALA Boy Christian Bacolod makes his ring return after a two-year layoff as he takes on Pablito Balidio in a six-round fight in one of the undercard bouts of PMI Boxing’s “Kumong Bol-anon II” on Dec. 10, 2021 in Dauis, Bohol.
Since the closure of the ALA Gym, Bacolod has not seen action inside the ring. The last time he fought was in Japan on Dec. 8, 2019. The 27-year-old Bacolod suffered his first career defeat via a close unanimous decision against undefeated Thai Thanongsak Simsri at the Edion Arena in Osaka.
“This won’t be an easy fight for him because he hasn’t fought for almost two years. But based on our training I think he won’t have any problems,” Bacolod’s coach Peter Cuizon told SunStar Cebu.
Bacolod was included in the next generation of ALA Boys that included the promising stars like Jeo Santisima, KJ Cataraja, Esneth Domingo and Melvin Jerusalem.
Bacolod has been training since August. He has been sparring with different boxers the likes of Cataraja and Joy Joy Formentera.
Like Bacolod, Balidio is also coming off a two-year hiatus. His last fight was on Nov. 24, 2019 in Roxas, Zamboanga del Norte. Balidio stopped previously unbeaten Joseph Lanat in the fifth round.
“I saw his opponent’s fight on YouTube and he shouldn’t be taken for granted because he’s a busy puncher. My advice to Bacolod is that he should target the body and if there’s an opening throw the overhand,” said Cuizon, a former ALA Boy himself.
Bacolod is 12-1 with nine knockouts, while Balidio is 4-1-2 with a knockout.
In the main event, Regie Suganob (8-0, 3 KOs) takes on Jerome Baloro (6-0, 4 KOs) for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) Youth light flyweight belt.
The co-main event features a 10-round bout between World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 5 rated light flyweight Mark Vicelles (14-0-1, 8 KOs) against former world title challenger Toto Landero (11-6-2, 2 KOs).