Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista showed composure and maturity in and out of the ring as he successfully defended his regional crown by decisioning Antonio ?Barrio? Meza of Mexico yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Bautista, whose promising career took a slip with a shocking first-round loss a few months ago, got a measure of confidence back after the victory, saying that he believes he still remains a worthy title challenger.
Bautista outboxed the game and surprisingly tough Meza in a 12-round bout the judges scored,118-110, 117-111, 116-112, all for the Bohol native.
?Natuto na talaga ako sa huli kong laban. Nag-ingat na din ako, pero alam ko kulang pa ako. Ang trainer ko na ang magsasabi kung ano ang mga mali ko pa para maitama namin,? said Bautista who kept the World Boxing Organization intercontinental super-bantamweight crown.
It was actually a close fight for the first six rounds as the southpaw Meza tried to perplex Bautista by changing his stance occasionally.
Action boiled over in the fourth round when both combatants exchanged telling hooks and uppercuts to the delight of the good-sized crowd that included former Philippine President Joseph Estrada who was greeted boisterously by the paying fans at the venue.
Bautista, 21, was assessed a point in the fourth canto after an accidental head butt caused a small gash on Meza?s right eyebrow.
?Nahirapan ako sa istilo niya kasi hindi naman namin nai-scout ?yung laro niya. Sa loob na lang ng ring ko pinag-aralan,? said Bautista.
After finding out his foe had a sturdy chin, Bautista tried to work on the Meza?s body but had to struggle a bit as the Boholano?s punches went way too low.
The sixth was another action-packed round as Bautista connected two uppercuts. Meza retaliated with a well-timed left hook that thwarted the Filipino?s attack.
?Du?n lang ako nasaktan sa Round Six nu?ng tinamaan ako ng left hook. Pero maganda naman ang kundisyon ko kaya naka-rekober ako,? said Bautista.
Bautista was able to make adjustments during the second half of the bout when he was able to time his body attacks and left hooks.
Meza slowed down toward the latter part of the fight, but still did well to finish the fight. Bautista had another fine moment in the ninth when he caught Meza with a good left hook to the jaw.
?It?s really hard to win outside of your hometown but Boom-Boom did well to win the fight. He?s good but I?ve fought better fighters,? said Meza through interpreter and manager Fernando Dominguez. ?He needs to get two to three more fights before he aims for a world title?
With the win Bautista improved to 24-1 with 17 KOs, while Meza dropped to 23-4, 16 KOs.
Bautista is coming off a devastating first-round knockout loss to WBO super-bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon of Mexico last August at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. He had a few words to de Leon.
?Kung nanood ka ngayon, gusto kong malaman mo na hindi ?yung tunay na Boom-Boom ang nakalaban mo,? he said. ?Proud din ako na world champion ang tumalo sa akin pero gusto kong makaharap kita ulit.?
Michael Aldeguer said they still have to sit and map out their plans for next year.
?We still have to talk about his next fight, probably sometime in May of next year,? Bautista?s manager said.
?We?re happy with Rey?s performance. He showed improvements with his defense,? Aldeguer added.
Bazooka over Bambino
In the main undercard, teen sensation AJ ?Bazooka? Banal downed Jovanny ?Bambino? Soto by scoring a sterling ninth-round technical knockout win.
Banal, 18, bewildered Soto with good counter shots and right hooks to the face and body. Banal?s good defensive moves also made his Mexican foe misfire most of his punches.
Soto furiously tried to come back and had some success in the fifth and sixth rounds as his unrelenting attacks forced Banal to backpedal.
Banal, who has shown tremendous maturity for a young hopeful, finally caught Soto with a perfectly timed right hook to the jaw that floored the foreigner in the ninth.
Soto barely beat the count, but was overwhelmed by a barrage of shots by Banal, forcing referee Ferdie Estrella to wave off the fight at 2:15 of the same round.
Banal upped his record to 16-0-1 with 13 KOs to keep his WBO youth super-flyweight tiara.
?Hindi ko akalain na babasgsak siya. Matibay din pero may lakas pa naman ako kasi ang alam ko aabot kami sa 10 rounds,? Banal said.
Meanwhile, RP bantamweight boss Michael Domingo scored a six-round unanimous decision over Anthony Mathias of Tanzania, while Cagayan de Oro?s pride Milan Melindo kept his WBO Asia-Pacific minimumweight belt on points over Jack Amisa of Indonesia.
Bai Elorde, grandson of legendary Filipino fighter Flash Elorde, remained unscathed by tallying his six straight win as he outpointed Chris Dollosin in a four-round battle.
