THE Pagara brothers will be feeding on each other’s energy to get past their daunting task at hand tonight.
“I really want to fight together with my brother especially now in Pinoy Pride,” said Jason, who will be sharing the big stage with his brother Albert for the first time.
“I trust Albert because he was a more experienced amateur fighter than me.”
“I really want to fight alongside him,” said Albert. “I want him to become a champion. He’s my idol. If there is no Jason, I wouldn’t be here.”
Jason and Albert headline Pinoy Pride 26 “Fists of the Future” tonight against two tough Mexican fighters at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
The older sibling Jason defends his World Boxing Organization (WBO) International light welterweight belt against hard-hitting Mario “Rocky” Meraz in the main event, while his 20-year-old brother faces World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 13 rated bantamweight Hugo Partida in the co-main event for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) Inter-Continental super bantamweight crown.
Jason tipped the scales a pound below the light welterweight limit at 139 pounds, while Meraz hit the scales at 139.5 pounds at yesterday’s weigh-in at Robinsons Fuente.
“His style really fits mine. He is a fighter and loves to move forward,” said Jason.
“There will be a knockout. The earlier the knockout comes, the better.”
After both weighing-in at exactly 122 pounds, Albert and Partida got heated up, rubbing heads and almost exchanging fists.
Instead of being intimidated, Albert is stoked for his fight with Partida.
“I’ll be aggressive because he is aggressive. I don’t know what round but there will be a knockout,” he said.
Jason is 33-2 with 20 knockouts, while Meraz is 20-3 with 16 knockouts. Albert, on the other hand, is 20-0 with 14 knockouts, while Partida is 21-4-2 with 16 knockouts.