MARK Vicelles makes his flyweight debut on June 29, 2024 and takes on undefeated hard-hitter Albert Francisco for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Asia flyweight title in the main event of Omega Pro Sports’ “Kumbati 17” at the Liloan Gymnasium in Liloan, Cebu.
“We’re moving up because Mark has outgrown his weight. Christian Araneta is also in the light flyweight division. It’s better that they each have their own division,” Omega Boxing Gym head coach Jinggoy Junco told SunStar Cebu.
“Mark has been training since February. It’s been a long time since he last fought because of a cut on his forehead. We let it heal because he was cut in his last three fights. Now that it’s fully healed, we’re ready to rock the flyweight division. This is our first meal at flyweight, a fighter with a 12-0 record,” Junco said.
Last year, Vicelles lost to Regie Suganob by an eighth-round technical decision in an IBF light flyweight title eliminator in Bohol. The fight was stopped due to a huge gash above Vicelles’ right eye.
The 28-year-old Vicelles bounced back with a third round stoppage of Ronald Alapormina in Tuburan, also last year.
Omega Pro Sports is hoping that Vicelles will break into the flyweight world rankings by winning the IBF Asia belt.
“This is an acid test for Mark. We want a confident fighter with heavy hands. A fighter that’s not afraid of him. We want to see if he learned what Doc J (Junco) taught him. As you can see, Mark is so prone to getting cuts to the head. That’s part of the reason why he lost to Suganob. He was cut against Alapormina in his fight last October. That’s why he was inactive. We needed to wait for the cut to heal. We addressed that in training. If he gets through Francisco and wins in devastating fashion, then he’s ready for the world stage,” said Omega Pro Sports’ Andrew Singco.
Francisco is no pushover though. He’s a young and hungry fighter that’s looking to boost his name with a win over an established boxer like Vicelles.
The 24-year-old Francisco already fought twice this year and defeated promising prospects Dennis Endar and Mark Antonio.
Francisco also once held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Oriental Youth flyweight belt after a unanimous decision win over Chinese Chengcheng Yang last year in Parañaque City.
Vicelles is 18-1-1 with 11 knockouts, while Francisco is 12-0 with eight knockouts. / EKA