CEBUANO rising star Jhack Tepora looks to make quick work of Mexican prospect Edivaldo Ortega in their interim World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title fight today in the main supporting bout of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Lucas Matthysse show in the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"I'm confident in Jhack's skills and ability that he'll win this. But we'll not be too overconfident because our opponent is a Mexican warrior who always moves forward. But he lacks the power. My prediction is less than five rounds. We won't force it but wait for the timing," said Tepora's head trainer Jinggoy Junco.
Tepora tipped the scales at 125.4 pounds, while Ortega weighed in at 125.6 pounds.
The 23-year-old Tepora, who fights out of the Cebu-based Omega Boxing Gym, wasn't on the world boxing map up until an impressive second round knockout of Lusanda Komanisi in a World Boxing Organization (WBO) Inter-Continental featherweight title fight in September of last year in South Africa.
With that win, Tepora earned lofty rankings in the WBA at No. 2 and in the International Boxing Federation (IBF) at No. 10 in the featherweight division.
After suffering his first career loss in the hands of Eduardo Ramirez, Ortega won back-to-back fights against former world champions Drian Francisco and Tomas Rojas.
Tepora is 21-0 with 16 knockouts, while Ortega is 26-1-1 with 12 knockouts. (EKA)