BEFORE Freddie Roach joins Oscar dela Hoya to Puerto Rico in the first week of March, the celebrated trainer from Hollywood will call the shots for Rey ‘Boom Boom’ Bautista and Z Gorres when they take on Latino rivals on Feb. 24 in Cebu.
Tony Aldeguer, who manages Bautista and Gorres, told the Bulletin that Roach, credited for turning Manny Pacquiao into a worldwide star, is planing in Manila on the morning of Feb. 17 and will immediately take a connecting flight to the Queen City where a press conference will be held later in the day.
Bautista collides with Feider Viloria of Colombia in a 12-round super-bantamweight brawl, while Gorres squares off with Fernando Montiel of Mexico in another 12-rounder in the super-flyweight class.
“Cebu is rolling the red carpet for Roach,” said Aldeguer, whose promotional outfit that is manned by right-hand man Sammy Gello-ani, is staging the blockbuster card in partnership with Oscar dela Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
Aldeguer noted that Roach will not stay for long after the fights and should be on his way back to the States the following night so he could supervise the training of another prized puncher, Mexican super-bantam Israel Vazquez, who faces the fearsome bantam titleholder Rafael Marquez in early-March.
Bautista and Gorres are expected to arrive in Manila tomorrow morning from Los Angeles, where they have been training with Roach at the Wild Card the past two weeks, and both are gracing the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday.
Roach recently signed a contract to train Dela Hoya for his May 5 duel with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas and since he would be away for two months, Roach won’t be able to get his hands on another marquee fighter, Manny Pacquiao, who fights in late-April in Macau.
Pacquiao, however, could still be with Roach if he decides to fly to Puerto Rico.
