A BIG Dome stint for “Boom Boom.”
If plans push through, Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, the teenage puncher who set the tone for the country’s unforgettable foray at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last Sept. 11, should be making his Manila debut, preferably at the fabled Araneta Coliseum, sometime in the second week of November.
This was revealed yesterday by Bautista’s chief handler Tony Aldeguer, who said Bautista’s World Boxing Organization Asia-Pacific bantamweight crown will be on the line.
With his sensational third-round knockout win over Colombian Felix Flores Murillo underneath the Manny Pacquiao-Hector Velazquez super-featherweight brawl, Aldeguer believes the Big Dome is the appropriate place for Bautista to defend his title.
In the event the Big Dome project does not materialize, Aldeguer said the province of Bohol, where Bautista comes from, is more than willing to stage the fight since Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim is an avid supporter of boxing.
“Definitely, Bautista will be fighting before the end of the year,” added Aldeguer, who has big plans for the 19-year-old Cebu-based, Bohol-born fighter who trained for the Flores fight at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
Bautista will be joined by Pacquiao and Hawaii-bred Brian Viloria, the Filipino-American who also created a stir when he snatched the World Boxing Council light-flyweight throne with a first-round knockout of Eric Ortiz of Mexico, in a parade from the Manila City Hall to Malaca?ang
In the evening, they will be honored in a VIP dinner at Crowne Plaza in Pasig City with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in attendance.
Pacquiao and Viloria are US-bound with the Pacman leaving on Thursday and the Hawaiian Punch departing for the Aloha State on Tuesday before heading to Las Vegas during the weekend where they will reunite.
