BAUTISTA SURVIVES 2ND ROUND KD TO WIN BY UNANIMOUS DECISION AGAINST ESPINOZA

Filipino Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista showed heart and skill when he survived a 2nd round knockdown to outpoint his more experienced Mexican opponent Gerardo Espinoza over eight rounds Friday night at the Sycuan Casino in San Diego, CA.

After a hard fought first round, the hard-hitting Espinoza hurt Bautista in round two during a flurry of exchanges, then floored him with a crushing right near the end of the round. Bautista, however, recovered in between rounds and proceeded to get back into the fight by outpointing and outpunching the Mexican, who dropped his record to 28 wins and 10 losses (26 KOs). Bautista battered the now tiring out Espinoza in the 7th and the 8th round but couldn't finish him off. The effort, however, was enough to get the nod of all 3 judges. Judge Jos? Cobi?n 76-75 and Fritz Warner had it 76-75 while Judge Pat Russell scored it 77-74, all for Boom Boom.

Bautista now upped his immaculate record to 19 wins with 14 KOs.