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GORRES FACES THE MOMENT OF TRUTH By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sat, 24 Feb 2007  Z "The Dream" Gorres, the mandatory challenger to WBO super flyweight champion faces the "Moment of Truth" in terms of whether he can match his actions in the ring with the supreme confidence he has shown in the buildup to his dream of winning a world title when he battles Mexican champion Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel at the Cebu City Sports Complex on Saturday night.. Gorres was buoyed by the fact that the 27 year old Montiel had to shed off some excess weight and had five trial weigh-ins prior to the official weigh-in where he had to strip naked to just make the 115 pound limit while Gorres had no problem tipping the scales at 115. Montiel looked drawn and bothered after having to go to a sauna to shed off excess poundage but still expressed confidence he would retain his title against the flashy Filipino southpaw bragging that he would win by a second round knockout. Gorres's trainer Edito "Ala" Villamor, a former two-time world title challenger and an excellent trainer said Gorres had done everything asked of him in preparation for his dream title fight but the Montiel camp led by his father-trainer Manuel Montiel Sr and his three brothers who are here were confident they would turn Gorres' dream into a nightmare. Villamor didn't disclose his strategy for the fight but expressed the hope that Montiel will match his words by fighting aggressively and going after Gorres so the Filipino southpaw can nail him with his vaunted counter-punches. In the event Montiel plays it safe and fights from a distance Gorres, as the challenger, would have to carry the fight to the champion in order to impress respected international judges Raul Caiz of Los Angeles, Chuck Giampa of Las Vegas and Denny Nelson from Minnesota. The referee is Samuel Viruet of New York. Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez said Montiel was the best fighter in the world at 115 pounds and Gorres would have to "go through the fire" to take the title away from him. Montiel who has an impressive record of 32-2-1 with 24 KO's said he didn't bother to bring his WBO championship belt to Cebu because he knew he was going to keep it. Gorres (26-1-1, 14 bKO's) indicated he was not bothered about the belt because he could always have the WBO make a new one for him as the new champion. WBO president "Paco" Valcarcel was at the weigh-in along with top officials of the rapidly growing world organization and underscored the importance of the blockbuster fight card by his presence which he said reinforced the position of the Philippines as the pre-eminent country in boxing in Asia. In the other major attraction emerging ring sensation Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista who came in at the super bantamweight limit of 122 pounds was eager to get into the ring and wage what is expected to be a short war against Mexican Marino Gonzalez who weighed in at 121 1/2 pounds. Gonzalez who has a record of 29-8 with 15 knockouts as against the undefeated Bautista who is 21-0 with 16 KO's was expected to put up a good fight but may eventually be overwhelmed by the power of Bautista in the WBO Intercontinental title fight. The third title fight on the card which will be telecast on a slightly delayed basis by the giant Philippine broadcast network ABS-CBN at 9:30 p.m. over Channel 2 as well as a pay-per-view basis over Sky Cable will also be telecast "live" to Europe and the Middle East by The Filipino Channel and on a delayed basis in the US, features .Jimrex Jaca vs hard-hitting Indonesian Simon Butar Butar. They will clash for the WBO Asia Pacific super featherweight crown in what promises to be an action-packed fight. The ABS-CBN broadcast will be handled by the veteran tandem of Ed Picson and "The Dean" Quinito Henson which will assure fight fans of a quality coverage with Dyan Castillejo handling much of the color in her own inimitable style. Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao said he would be at special ringside to cheer the Filipino boxers in their quest to win honors for themselves and the country and to add to the glory achieved by Pacquiao whom Valcarcel said was without a doubt the most exciting and the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world today. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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