Today at just about noon, the weigh-in for the gladiators for the big event at the GasMart Arena in Tijuana, Mexico tomorrow night was held with the supervision of WBC and the Promoters headed by Fernando Beltran.
WBC Bantamweight champion, Luis ?Pantera? Nery came in at 120 lbs while Filipino challenger, Arthur ?King? Villanueva hit the scales at 119 lbs.
Since the fight is not for Nery?s title, the extra pounds beyond the 118 bantamweight limit were in effect ignored and the fight will go on.
Villanueva took the fight even if it was not for the title and the fact that it will be held at the champion?s home court because he needs to prove a point ? that is he belongs to the elite bantamweights.
Many surmised that Villanueva is on an uphill battle and that short of knocking out the champion, he really does not have a prayer. That is boxing and challengers fighting on an opponent?s home court are aware of that.
But that is nothing new to Villanueva and even the rest of the ALA fighters. These Cebu gladiators are not intimidated by such issues and given a chance, they will gladly so to hostile places just to prove their worth. The best example of that is Donnie Nietes, the current IBF flyweight champion.
Win or lose the fight will certainly do well for the stock of Villanueva. A loss would only validate his fighting heart and the Filipino grit to go against all odds. A win on the other hand will surely open another door for a title fight.
Didn?t they say the third time is a charm?
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