LAS Vegas, Nevada?For a while, Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista admitted he swallowed his pride just to make sure he will end up the winner.
The 20-year-old Filipino fighter said he got staggered by a right straight by Sergio Manuel Medina of Argentina in the seventh round that put him through the ropes.
?Gusto ko agad gumanti pero sumisigaw ang corner ko na takbo muna ako. Ayaw kong tumakbo pero naisip ko agad, kailangan ko munang maka-recover,? said Bautista. ?Kinain ko muna pride ko. Importante ang manalo ako sa laban.?
True enough, Bautista immediately regained his senses after taking several steps back.
Bautista (23-0, 17 KOs) disclosed he was surprised with his opponent?s style as he faced a different boxer from the one he saw on tape.
?Naging wild ?yung mga suntok niya. Iba ?yung nakita ko sa tape. Kaya nu?ng unang round nahirapan akong tamaan siya sa katawan,? added Bautista.
Bautista has said time and again that he wants to end every fight by knockout so as not to give bogus judges a chance to steal a victory away from him.
Bautista said he learned a lesson or two when bossom buddies Z Gorres and Gerry Penalosa got the raw end of the deal in their previous World Boxing Organization title shots.
Manager Tony Aldeguer believes the one-point deduction on Bautista by referee Robert Byrd in the fifth round for low blow messed up their game plan.
?Bautista is more of a body puncher and not really a head hunter. That deduction distracted Rey?s plan of punishing Medina with body shots,? said Aldeguer.
Aldeguer added Medina did his homework as the Argentine improved a lot in covering his body.
?He knew Rey will go to the body and obviously he prepared long enough to negate Rey?s attack,? said Aldeguer.
Though Bautista admitted he got hurt big time in the sixth round, he still considers his knockdown to Mexican Gerardo Espinosa as the most serious one.
??Yung kay Espinosa nahilo talaga ako. Mali pa nga ang corner na pinuntahan ko,? admitted Bautista.
Bautista scored a close but well-deserved unanimous decision despite visiting the canvass in the second round of his eight-round fight versus Espinosa on December 2005 in El Cajon, California.
The win makes Bautista the mandatory title challenger to reigning WBO Super-bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon.
?Wala na siyang kawala sa akin. Noon ko pa gustong kalaban si Ponce de Leon. Wala na siyang dahilan na umiwas sa akin,? said Bautista.
The Ponce de Leon-Bautista fight will still undergo tedious negotiations as the Filipino fighters management team headed by Tony Aldeguer anticipates a hard time getting an ideal date for the bout.
Aldeguer?s trusted lieutenant Sammy Gello-Ani said the best date is mid-August which will give them ample time to avoid clashing with the September 16 gig of World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
?The Marquez fight is a Golden Boy Promotions project and we also want enough attention to build up Rey?s next fight,? said Gello-Ani.
Bautista along with Gorres and Penalosa fights under the GBP banner in partnership with Aldeguers ALA Boxing Club.
Filipino trainer Edito Villamor said he plans to give Bautista a two-week break but expects his boxer to break his order.
?Knowing Rey, I expect him to at least jog after three days,? Villamor, a two-time world title challenger, said.
