PROMOTERS ARE hyping it up as some sort of payback time, but it?s going to be the beginning of the road for redemption as far as super-bantamweight Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista is concerned.
Bautista, whose world almost came to an end when he absorbed a first-round knockout loss to Daniel Ponce De Leon last August in Sacramento, California, gets a chance to rehabilitate his once-flourishing career when he bangs bodies with Antonio Meza as big-time boxing returns to the Araneta Coliseum on the morning of Dec. 2.
“Rey is doing great in training and, so far, he has done more than 80 rounds of actual sparring,” said Tony Aldeguer, the Cebu sports patron whose son Michael represents Bautista.
Aldeguer said Bautista regularly spars with Z Gorres and super-fly hot prospect AJ Banal, who is also seeing action in the undercard of the slugfest being put up by Third Force, a new promotional outfit beefed up by the presence of former pro basketball league chief Noli Eala.
To further drum up interest in the Big Dome card, Bautista and Banal are flying to Manila from Cebu to meet up with their foreign counterparts on Nov. 27.
“Bautista is the second most popular Filipino fighter next to Manny Pacquiao,” said Eala, who is confident that the 20-year-old Bohol-born, Cebu-based banger is very much capable of bouncing back.
“He is young and he is fun to watch,” Eala said.
Banal, a knockout artist like Bautista, faces Jovanny Soto, also of Mexico.
Apart from the two Mexicans, an Indonesian and a Tanzanian would also be imported.
Third Force is promoting the event in coordination with Aldeguer?s famed ALA Boxing Club.
While the traditional practice in staging boxing shows will be followed to the letter, Eala?s group is introducing innovations in holding high-profile cards.
Amy Hayes, the world?s most beautiful ring announcer, will make the formal introduction, while the Kitty Girls, whose singing and dancing style mimic the Pussycat Dolls, have also been signed up to add spice.
