FOLLOWING a mediocre start to his professional career, it looked as if 27-year-old Larry Abarra was already finished.
He stopped fighting following a split decision loss to Danilo Gabisay in 2012 and moved to Dubai to become a trainer at Round 10 Boxing Club.
Abarra, however, has a chance to relive his career as he is slated in the undercard of Pinoy Pride 27 ? ?Duel in Dubai? on Sept. 5 at the Dubai World Trade Center.
Abarra, coming off a two-year layoff, is up against Thai Chatpayak Nuengkawkawhok in a four-rounder.
?Larry is based in Dubai already as a trainer in Round 10 Boxing. He was a boxer based in Baguio and became a trainer also with Shape Up Gym,? said ALA Promotions vice-president Dennis Ca?ete.
The Shape Up Gym was the gym in Baguio City, which was once the training camp of Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
Abarra suffered his first loss in the hands of Virgil Puton by unanimous decision in 2011. He bounced back and scored a technical decision win over Lluminado Besmanos before dropping a close fight with Gabisay.
Abarra is 2-2-1 with two knockouts, while Nuengkawkawhok, who has lost back-to-back fights, is 2-7 with a knockout.
Abarra is fighting in ALA Promotions? first international event with two of his teammates, Ugandan Kizito Deo and Syrian Mohammad Akram.
Deo is facing unbeaten Dubai-based Uzbek Anusher Abdullaev in a four round welterweight bout, while Akram is up against Thai Kong Windy Sports in a four round light welterweight fight.
Deo has no record in boxrec.com but his handlers said that he is unbeaten with a 5-0 slate, while Abdullaev is also undefeated with a 4-0 record with four knockouts.
Akram, on the other hand, is 1-0-1 in boxrec.com but he is supposedly 9-0-1 according to his handlers. Windy Sports, in the meantime, is 1-5.
The main event features hot prospect Genesis Servania (24-0, 10 KOs) defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Inter-Continental super bantamweight crown against former world title challenger Jose Cabrera (22-4-2, 10 KOs).
In the main featured bouts, unbeaten up-and-comer Arthur Villanueva (25-0, 14 KOs) trades leathers with Nicaraguan Henry Maldonado (18-3, 13 KOs) for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) International super flyweight belt, while fan-favorite Rey ?Boom-Boom? Bautista (35-3, 25 KOs) locks horns with Mexican Juan Jose Martinez (19-1, 15 KOs).
