Cebu City ? Unbeaten featherweight Mark Magsayo has a major stumbling block that he needs to clear tonight at the Waterfront Hotel.
It comes in the form Eduardo Montoya, a wiry puncher from Reynosa, Mexico, who is on a mission to derail Magsayo?s bid to secure a spot on the April 23 show to be starred by Nonito Donaire and Hungarian Zsolt Bedak.
Originally, ALA Boxing had penciled the Donaire-Bedak showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum but promoter Michael Aldeguer decided to bring it here as a show of respect to the Queen City?s reputation as the country?s hotbed of boxing.
?Cebu is the Mecca of boxing,? Aldeguer said on Friday during the official weigh-in of Pinoy Pride 35 at the Robinsons Galleria.
Donaire captured the WBO 122-lb title with a hard-earned win over Cesar Juarez of Mexico last year in Puerto Rico.
Magsayo, holder of a 12-0-0 win-loss-draw record with 10 KOs, has to get rid of Montoya (17-4-1 with 13 KOs) without having to go through hell to guarantee an appearance.
If Montoya makes him look bad, Magsayo might end up being scratched off from the huge show.
Like his stablemate, Prince Albert Pagara, an undefeated super-bantam, would also like to get the job done without much difficulty in the main event of the card dubbed Pinoy Pride 35.
Pagara (25-0 with 18 KOs) collides with Yasner Talavera (15-3-1 with four KOs) of Nicaragua and the flashy Filipino fighter is also looking for a knockout but understands that he might not get his way.
