Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista is aching to bounce back from his humiliating first round knockout loss to WBO superbantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon but it won?t be easy making mincemeat of his next opponent.
ALA stable owner Tony Aldeguer?s chief lieutenant Sammy Gello-ani told The STAR recently Bautista will face WBC Federation of Boxing Commissions of the Mexican Republic (Fecombox) champion Antonio (Barrio) Meza in his comeback fight on Dec. 8 at the Araneta Coliseum and predicted a war that could go either way.
Gello-ani said Aldeguer himself rejected Bautista?s original opponent Jesus (Chito) Rios, another Mexican, because he wanted a real tough test for the Candijay, Bohol, prospect.
Rios was scratched because five years ago, he was knocked out by Esau Gaona who was recently blasted into submission by Aldeguer prot?g? A. J. Banal in a single round. The blemish was a sore spot in Rios? otherwise impressive 24-3 record.
?Mr. Aldeguer felt the Filipino public wouldn?t accept Rios as a legitimate opponent for Boom Boom because of that loss to Gaona,? said Gello-ani. ?So we looked for somebody else. Meza was suggested by Golden Boy and we think he?ll be more than a match for Boom Boom.?
Meza, 24, has a 25-2 record, with 23 KOs. His only losses were a second round knockout to Ricardo Castillo in 2005 and a decision to Julio Zarate last year. He has won his last five outings.
Gello-ani said a consortium of businessmen, including Viva president Vic del Rosario, is being organized to bankroll the Big Dome card which will also feature Banal against Mexican Jovanny Soto and Philippine bantamweight titlist Michael Domingo against a still unnamed Mexican opponent.
Gello-ani said superflyweight Z Gorres would?ve been added to the card if only he had no commitment to take on Colombian Jonathan (El Explosivo) Perez in a title eliminator during the WBO convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 31.
Gorres, 25, is gunning for a second crack at WBO superflyweight champion Fernando Montiel who was staggered in the third round and decked in the seventh before halting Colombian challenger Luis Melendez in Las Vegas last Thursday. Montiel scored a disputed split 12-round decision over Gorres in Cebu early this year.
Gello-ani returned from Las Vegas last Tuesday hand-carrying the handsome IBF Intercontinental championship belt that Gorres won by knocking out Eric Gomez at the World Cup in Sacramento last August. The belt was not ready when Gorres scored the victory and Gello-ani personally delivered it to the fighter.
Gello-ani said another ALA stable fighter Federico Catubay will face former IBF flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan in Sydney on Oct. 20. Darchinyan is coming off a shock knockout loss to Filipino Nonito Donaire Jr. who is slated to make his first defense of the title against Luis Maldonado in Connecticut on Dec. 1.
Gello-ani also mentioned that ALA fighter Bert Batawang is back in Cebu after fights in the US were postponed thrice. Batawang, 35, has been named the mandatory challenger for IBF lightflyweight champion Ulises Solis. If Solis is unable to defend the crown against Batawang by Jan. 25, Gello-ani said he will be stripped of the title and the Filipino will meet the next leading available contender for the vacant throne.
