Florante “The Little Pacquiao” Condes (21-3-1, 20 KOs) arrived on Monday at Jakarta airport in Indonesia and told the press that he’ll knock out the IBF minimumweight defending champion Muhammad Rachman (61-5-5, 31 KOs) before 8th round. Condes will be accompanied in Indonesia by his full team. Manager Aljoe Jaro, trainer George Sol and lawyer Joey Mendoza are already here, while Condes’ promoter Dante Ortiz and former world light welterweight champion Morris East are expected to arrive in Jakarta tomorrow (Wednesday). East will be the special motivator for the young hard hitter during the bout. On a separate occassion, Rachman responded to the challenger’s provocative statement by saying, “He needs to say that (to KO in round 8) to encourage himself. That’s quite normal when a scared fighter needs something to encourage himself, and everybody knows it’s just nothing. I will show him who Muhammad Rachman is, and I will give him a short boxing lesson!”
——————————————————————————– Some reports in Indonesia mentioned that Rachman will concentrate on a unification title bout against WBO champion Ivan Calderon. “Let me finish this young boy first,” Rachman replied when asked about Calderon fight. Rachman vs Condes will be featured on July 7 in Jakarta, handled by US referee Wayne Hedgpeth.
