SACRAMENTO, California?There is no way to prevent the boxing rivalry between the Philippines and Mexico from exploding into a full-scale war inside the ring, the main protagonists in the Boxing World Cup event predicted here on Friday.
Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista goes for the WBO super bantamweight crown of Daniel Ponce De Leon in the top bout of the supremacy duel featuring six boxers from each country.
?Filipinos are great, we have worked hard, we are ready for war,? the 21-year-old Bautista (23-0, 17 KOs) declared in yesterday?s press conference at the suburban Arco Arena, home of the Sacramento Kings in the NBA.
?Filipinos are good fighters. We are ready to defend the title and fight to the finish,? said the 27-year-old De Leon (31-1, 28 KOs) in Spanish.
Bautista, popularly dubbed as the next Manny Pacquiao, was earlier tagged as the underdog but odds evened up as the fighters headed for today?s weigh-in at the Arden Fair Mall.
Gerry Pe?alosa (51-6-2, 34 KOs) who gave de Leon a tough time in a previous 122-lb fight, goes for the WBO bantamweight crown of Jhonny Gonzales (34-5, 29 KOs).
Members of the RP team, in classy gray outfit with the Jordan logo, and their Mexican counterparts, in white uniform, were presented to the media by Golden Boy Promotions big boss Oscar De La Hoya. All the fighters were each given an Icelink wrist watch worth $5,000.
Z Gorres (26-2-1) fights Eric Ortiz, who was stopped by Brian Viloria two years ago, for the IBF Intercontinental junior bantamweight title.
Other bouts feature AJ Banal vs Jorge Cardenas at 115 lb.; Michael Domingo vs Miguel Roman at 122 lb and Diosdado Gabi vs Jose Beranza at 115 lb.
The country that scores more win takes possession of the World Cup, a gem-studded trophy estimated to cost $500,000.
In case of a tie, say Mexico and RP scoring three wins each, the country with the more number of knockouts emerges champion.
The country that wins the more number of rounds combined would be declared winner in the event of another deadlock.
