JASON ?El Ni?o? Pagara will be back on the ring after 10 months and will face lethal foe in Richmond Djarbeng of Ghana in one of the three main events of the Pinoy Pride 42: Clash for Glory at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino on Sept. 16.
?I?m very determined for this fight. This is important for me since it?s been months since my last fight,? said Pagara during the media gathering at The Park Social in Cebu IT Park yesterday.
Pagara (40W-2L,25KOs) last fought in November 2016 when he posted a first round KO victory over former world champion Jose Alfaro in a 10-round welterweight encounter.
Next month, the 29-year-old native of Maasin City Pagara will be back in the ring, facing knockout puncher Djarbeng (28-3-1, 22KOs) in a 10-round bout with a catch weight of 146 lbs.
?I?m excited for this fight. Even if I did not fight for months, my training is still continuous,? said the World Boxing Organization (WBO) No.3 Welterweight contender.
Pagara said that he has seen the fights of Djarbeng on Youtube and has prepared on the fighting style of his foe.
?I saw his fights in the internet. I can handle him. I?m confident of defeating him,? said Pagara. ?I?m very eager for this fight and I will do my best to become the number one again.?
Djarbeng is a former West African Boxing Union welterweight champion. He?s also the former Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) African welterweight champion and former WBA Pan African welterweight king.
Djarbeng racked up eight consecutive wins after he fell to the hands of Jeff Horn more than two years ago. Horn defeated eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao last July in Brisbane, Australia.
Pagara?s trainer Edmund Villamor said that Djarbeng is a legitimate knockout puncher but he believes that his ward will be the one victorious on this fight.
?I?m confident with Jason. We just stay with the fight plan and avoid being complacent,? said Vilamor.
The upcoming card will be headlined by Milan ?El Metodico? Metodico (36-2, 13KOs), who will defend his IBF Word junior flyweight belt against South Africa?s Hekkie ?The Hexecutioner? Budler (31-2,10KOs).
The other main event will feature Jonas ?Zorro? Sultan (13-3, 9KOs) and John Reil ?Quadro Alas? Casimero (24-3-,15KOs) in an IBF World junior bantamweight eliminator.
The rest of the under card will feature Arthur Villanueva against Richie Mepranum; Kevin Jake Cataraja versus Wiljan Ugbaniel; Virgel Vitor takes on Alvian Bais; Kenneth Gentallan traders leather with Jeffrey Stella; and Jeno Macapobre battles Mel Ando. (RSC)
