Bohol's pride Rey 'Boom Boom' Bautista arrived in yesterday in Manila following his sensational third-round victory over Nicaraguan Roberto Bonilla last week at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Bautista was met by a throng of mediamen and well-wishers when he arrived at the NAIA early morning yesterday, where his manager Antonio L. Aldeguer and Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim were on hand to welcome the teenaged boxing prodigy.
Bautista and his team then took part at the weekly SCOOP Forum at the Kamayan Restaurant along Padre Faura.
Aldeguer, who discovered Bautista, announced at the media gathering that he is not using his ward's third round stoppage of Nicaraguan Roberto Bonilla as jumping board for an immediate crack at the world championship.
Aldeguer, who came to the forum with Lim, stressed that he wants to see his 19-year-old protege to fight twice or thrice more before even entertaining thoughts of a world title fight.
"Boom Boom is a good fighter, no doubt about it, but
let's not get carried away with his recent victories in
the United States," Aldeguer told members of the
Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines
during the session sponsored by ACCEL.
"Despite his recent successes, we all know, including
Freddie, that he has yet to learn a lot," Aldeguer added.
Bautista, who is ranked No. 1 by the WBO and No. 7 by the WBC, parades an unblemished record of 20 wins with 15 by knockouts, and will be facing Alejandro Felix Montiel on of the under card of the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar Larios headliner on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.
"If he hurdles Montiel I want him to fight one more
time then maybe I will consider him challenging Daniel Ponce de Leon for the WBO super-bantamweight crown," Aldeguer emphasized.
"We have a six-fight contract with Golden Boy, so
there is still five more fights to go, so we're not in a rush. Besides, Bautista himself knows he's not yet ready for bigger fights in his career," Aldeguer clarified.
Meanwhile, Z "The Dream" Gorres takes part in the official weigh-in today in advance of his non-title bout tomorrow against Colombian Pedro Rincon Miranda at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
This will be Gorres' second fight under the Golden Boy Promotions banner, following his decision win over Waenpetch Chuwatana for the OPBF superfly title last March 18.
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