CEBU-BASED Junibert Bantay is in for a tough assignment as he trades leathers with fellow unbeaten prospect Lienard Sarcon on Oct. 26, 2025, at the San Andres Sports Complex in a card that’s part of the buildup to the 50th anniversary commemoration of the historic “Thrilla in Manila.”
Bantay, who fights out of the Chao Sy Boxing stable, has gained a lot of momentum this year by staying active. He has already fought three times in 2025.
The 25-year-old Bukidnon native started the year with a unanimous-decision victory against previously-unbeaten Remar Andonga on Feb. 12, then followed it up with another unanimous verdict over China’s Tangjiaerke Asihaer two months later.
Most recently, Bantay put on a masterclass performance in defeating Japanese boxer Haruki Miyamoto via lopsided unanimous decision to win the World Boxing Foundation Silver super-bantamweight title.
The 25-year-old Sarcon, on the other hand, is one of the country’s most promising young fighters. He’s coming off a long layoff and will be fighting for the first time this year.
Sarcon’s last fight was on Dec. 21, 2024, when he knocked out Jason Dogelio in two rounds.
In 2022, Sarcon won the World Boxing Association Asia featherweight belt with a unanimous decision win against Jong Seon Kang. The following year, he also won his US debut after beating Frank Gonzalez by unanimous decision.
Bantay is 9-0 with a knockout, while Sarcon is 13-0 with five knockouts.
Headlining the card is an all-Filipino world title clash between International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight king Pedro Taduran (18-4-1, 13 KOs) and unbeaten challenger Christian Balunan (12-0, 7 KOs).
Also featured in the card is an IBF Pan Pacific bantamweight showdown between undefeated pugs Rex Tso (23-0, 4 KOs) and Sagar Chouhan (6-0-2, 2 KOs). / EKA
