This Saturday night Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista enters the ring with world class potential, and hopes to leave it with a world class title. The 21-year-old resident of Cebu City, Philippines is most certainly keeping a little extra room in his suitcase for Daniel Ponce de Leon?s super bantamweight belt. The two fighters headline the much ballyhooed Boxing World Cup at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA. The fight, along with Gerry Penalosa vs. Jhonny Gonzalez will be televised on HBO?s Boxing After Dark.
Bautista?s stock, and stardom, is rising sharply in his native country, having possibly eclipsed even Penalosa, while riding the churning wake of one Manny Pacquiao. With so much attention and praise having befallen the young man, one can easily forget that he is relatively inexperienced at 23-0 with 17 KOs and faces a tough, dangerous test in de Leon.
The careful boxing observer need only look to Fernando Vargas as an example of a fighter with championship talent who, though he won a title, may have had his most productive ring years cut short by taking on too much fighter ? Felix Trinidad ? too soon ? after only 20 professional fights. Francisco Bojado, who is trying to resurrect his career at the ripe old age of 24, could be cited as another example.
One decided advantage for Boom Boom is that he shares the gym with de Leon?s most recent opponent in Penalosa. In dealing with de Leon (31-1, 28 KOs), Penalosa was as successful as one can be without winning, so his input should prove invaluable for Bautista. All that Penalosa lacked in his duel with de Leon was aggression, something that Bautista has in abundance.
Observe him at the gym for any length of time and his energy becomes palpable. He virtually hums, like a 12 volt battery, warm and percolating, on full charge. In the ring, he reminds one of a prime, welterweight Felix Trinidad, with maybe a little more bounce. Leading with an excellent jab (that his trainer, Freddie Roach, promises he will use more of) his right hands are straight and his hooks are tight and powerful.
While he has been dropped more than once ? he was badly stunned by Gerardo Espinoza, a veteran of three world title fights, in the second round ? he has shown focus and determination by not panicking in adversity. Roach asserts that Rey?s knockdown at the hands of Espinoza was the result of being ?too anxious,? which is easy enough to believe since Boom Boom was only 18 at the time.
In de Leon, Boom Boom faces an often awkward, yet strong opponent. De Leon often makes horrendous technical mistakes. Against Penalosa he repeatedly threw long uppercuts from the outside allowing a master boxer like Penalosa to counter with ease. Boom Boom?s power, speed, and tight defense should be enough to carry the day for him.
But what of his future?
Assuming he beats de Leon, a meeting with the lanky Colombian WBA champion, Celestino Caballero seems the most likely, and safe, unification fight. A showdown with the winner of the Rafael Marquez vs. Israel Vazquez trilogy isn?t going to happen until at least summer of 2008 and even then, neither is likely to want to face a hard-charging puncher like Bautista so soon after their epic battles. All of which should give Bautista the time to get in two or three more fights with top ten or top 15 fighters without losing face, or the patience of boxing fans.
By spring of 2009 Marquez will be 34; Vazquez will be 32, making a matchup with either Mexican champion a reasonable, and lucrative, risk. Of course, absent in all this pontification is the potential that Boom Boom?s still maturing, 21-year-old body will no longer be able to remain at 122 lbs. Should he move up to featherweight in the next two or so years, a fight with rising star Jorge Linares would have the boxing press climbing all over each other to get credentials for the fight.
It?s good to see boxing doing so well in the Philippines and it?s a joy to watch a talented young Filipino fighter like Rey Bautista display his gifts. May they be on display for many years to come.
