FORMER interim World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight champion Reymart Gaballo gets a huge boost in his training camp after acquiring the services of world championship coach Nonito Donaire Sr.
Donaire Sr. is now Gaballo’s trainer and the two have already started working together at the Sanman Boxing Gym in Gen. Santos City.
“We’re doing good in training and we’re just waiting on who’ll be his opponent,” Donaire Sr. told SunStar Cebu.
“We’re working right on our technique and strategy because we still don’t know who our opponent is because there are still a lot of changes in the boxing sanctioning organizations.”
All the bantamweight titles are currently up for grabs after unified bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue recently relinquished his belts after announcing that he’ll be moving up in weight.”
The 26-year-old Gaballo is currently ranked No. 4 in both the WBC and the World Boxing Association (WBA), and No. 6 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
The WBC already ordered Gaballo to face No. 3 rated Nawaphon Kaikanha to fight for the No. 1 spot in the bantamweight division. It could possibly be his next fight. That’s why Donaire Sr. is also studying videos of the Thai fighter.
“I studied his fights last night,” said Donaire Sr. “He’s an easier fight for Gaballo because he’s (Kaikanha) flatfooted.”
Kaikanha is a former world title challenger. He fought for the vacant WBC flyweight belt in 2017 and lost to Juan Hernandez via a third round technical knockout. Kaikanha has an impressive record of 57-2-1 with 47 knockouts.
Gaballo could also opt to campaign in the WBO and IBF. Ranked ahead of him in the WBO are No. 1 Jason Moloney, No. 2 Vincent Astrolabio and No. 3 Emmanuel Rodriguez. On the other hand, in the IBF, Astrolabio is ranked No. 1, followed by Rodriguez at No. 2, Moloney at No. 3, Melvin Lopez at No. 4 and Jerwin Ancajas at No. 5.
Gaballo, 25-1 with 21 knockouts, won the interim WBC bantamweight belt with a split decision win over Rodriguez in 2020. He fought for the regular title against Nonito Donaire Jr., Donaire Sr.’s son, and got knocked out in the fourth round in 2021.
Gaballo made his ring return last Oct. 29 after a 10-month layoff and stopped Ricardo Sueno in two rounds. (EKA)