THERE will be no holiday break for Rey ?Boom-Boom? Bautista as he meticulously prepares for a rematch with Mexican Alejandro Barrera next month.
In the fighters? first meeting last Aug. 28, Bautista was luckily awarded with a controversial fourth-round technical knockout win over the 31-year-old cousin of legendary Mexican boxer Marco Antonio Barrera. The bout was stopped due to the ring physician?s advice after Barrera suffered a huge gash above his right eye.
Because of the controversial ending, Bautista wants to make a statement by beating Barrera fair and square in their rematch in the featured bout of ?Pinoy Pride 3? on Jan. 29 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
?I will not go home. I?ll stay here (in the gym),? Bautista, who decided to stay in Cebu City rather than celebrating the holidays in Bohol with his family, told Sun.Star Cebu in an interview.
New training
Bautista, 24, said he was exhausted in his last fight because of the insertion of the new training style by conditioning coach Pio Solon in his regimen.
?I?m more focused now. I wasn?t focused in my last fight because I wasn?t used to the conditioning training,? said Bautista.
Bautista said he is working on his balance with Solon and that they will stop the conditioning training for weeks before the fight so that he won?t be drained, unlike the first bout.
Unspectacular
Bautista said there is nothing spectacular with Barrera?s style and that he believes he only has to watch out for the Mexican fighter?s straight punch.
?He knew my style by watching my fights in YouTube, but I didn?t know anything about him,? said Bautista, who didn?t see any clips of Barrera before their encounter last August.
However, now that Butista has seen Barrera?s style, he is confident of his chances of beating him again.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on December 08, 2010.
