Boxing gods have been pouring their blessings on veteran slugger Bert Batawang.
After winning the WBA Pan-African light-flyweight title last November, the SGG Boxing Stable fighter moved up to No.8 in the WBA 108-pound list, getting him closer to his dreamed world-title crack since turning pro in 1990.
Batawang is also rated WBO No.11 and WBC No.15.
With the recent developments, Batawang’s manager and promoter Sammy Gello-ani is now working on a possible unification bout against current Pan-Asian Boxing Association (Paba) 108lb champion Vicky Tahumil of Indonesia.
“That is what I am projecting right now. If Tahumil accepts our offer and things happen as planned, it will be in April,” said an elated Gello-ani.
Gello-ani accompanied Batawang to Cape Town in South Africa last Nov. 20 and witnessed how his ward turned a potential defeat by decision to a stunning seventh-round knockout victory over erstwhile champion Sithembele Kibiti.
The WBA regional belt came almost a month after the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) stripped Batawang of his RP belt for failure to defend the title for a span of one-year.
“After he was stripped of the RP title, o told him that maybe something bigger is headed your way. It happened when he won the WBA title,” said Gello-ani.
“Bert deserves all of it because he is a good person is very hard working. If he wins the Paba title, he will move up to the top five and we’ll have a good chance for a world-title fight.”
Batawang holds a 31-11-3 win-loss-draw record, with 25 KO wins. Most of his defeats came at a time when his relationship with his former manager went shaky, forcing him to hang his gloves for almost five years.
