Philippines junior lightweight champion Jimrex Jaca finally got the green light to travel to America after the US embassy granted him a US visa last Tuesday.
Last week, the embassy denied his request for a visa for his fight against Mexican Ivan “Relampago” Valle in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales rematch on Jan. 21 (Jan. 22 in the Philippines) at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
After getting his passport and visa Wednesday morning, his manager Rex “Wakee” Salud immediately booked him for a flight to Los Angeles in the evening.
Assistance
Salud reportedly asked assistance from Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella after Jaca was earlier denied.
Last Tuesday, Jaca was called to return to the embassy for this third interview in less than a week, and this time he was granted a B-1 visa.
“Naluoy siguro nako ang US consul kay ikatulo na man nako to nga interview (The US consul must have pitied me since it was my third interview),” Jaca said, who could barely speak English and was assisted by an interpreter during his interview with the American consul.
Jaca said he was asked how much was his biggest prize in fighting in the Philippines.
Prize
“I told him the biggest prize I got in the Philippines was P50,000, while the biggest purse I ever received was P300,000 when I fought in Japan (to defend my OPBF super-bantamweight title last year),” Jaca said in Cebuano.
Jaca will earn $5,000 in fighting Valle for eight rounds.
If he does well against Valle, Salud hopes to book him for another fight before his B-1 visa expires on April 9.
A B-1 visa is a business-visitor visa that allows its holder to visit the US for a regulated period.
Jaca is looking forward to train harder for Valle, a known puncher and a knockout artist as reflected in his 23-5-1 win-loss-draw record, which also has 18 knockouts.
Jaca is 21-1-1 with 11 knockouts.
