On October 28, in Johannes burg, South Africa, Filipino flyweight Edrin ?The Sting? Dapudong, 26, will move up to the junior bantamweight division to fight South African fighter Gideon Buthelezi for the International Boxing Organization (IBO) 115-pound world title.
This will be Dapudong?s second chance to win a world boxing title, a dream which I and my brothers and the people of North Cotabato share. Winning the IBO title will make Dapudong the first boxer from the province to win a world boxing title.
In 2010, Dapudong shocked Mexican boxing when he knocked out highly rated Jesus Jimenez in the first round of a scheduled 12-round fight in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) silver flyweight title.
It was considered one of the biggest upsets in Mexican boxing because Jimenez was ranked No. 1 in the Pound for Pound list of the top flyweights.
The victory catapulted Dapudong to Number 3 in the WBC world ranking and earned him the moniker ?The Barefoot Prince,? a tag given him by veteran sports columnist Recah Trinidad for travelling all the way from the Philippines to Mexico in a pair of cheap rubber sandals he bought in the public market of his hometown, M?lang in North Cotabato.
His succeeding performances, however, were not as spectacular as the fight against Jimenez. In his first defense of his WBC Silver Flyweight title, he lost in 12-rounds to Mexico?s Wilbert Uicab in a fight in the resort city of Cancun made controversial by the deep scratch wounds that Dapudong had in his right arm and shoulder after the fight.
After two sterling knockout victories scored over two Indonesian opponents in fight cards staged by ALA Boxing Promotions, Dapudong?s promoter, The Sting earned a crack at the World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight title held by Mexican Hernan Marquez.
In what was expected to be an exciting fight in the desert city of Hermosillo, Dapudong was floored by a Marquez left to the forehead in the third round. While it was considered a flash knockdown as the Filipino challenger immediately stood up even before the end of the mandatory count of 8, Mexican-American referee Raul Caiz Jr. waved off the fight to the consternation of trainer Nonito Donaire Sr. who worked in the Filipino challenger?s corner.
While the stoppage was considered premature and unwarranted, Dapudong also had a share of the blame. A review of the video showed that while he raised his hands to signify his intent to continue the fight, his timid character inside the ring was apparently interpreted by the referee as an indication of unwillingness to fight.
Coming home from that fight, Dapudong got an earful from my brothers who, along with me, have supported his boxing career since he was a 14-year old kid. Dapudong?s mother is a relative who stayed with my parents as a working student while his father was employed in a security agency owned by my brother.
He was told to show ferocity inside the ring, especially during situations similar to the knockdown he suffered in the hands of Marquez.
?Show the referee that you still want to fight,? said my eldest brother, Col. Pat, who also reminded Dapudong of his classic fight against the veteran Bert Batawang in Cebu City in April of 2009 where he stopped the veteran world contender in the 7th of an exciting fight to win the WBO Oriental junior flyweight title.
The fight against Buthelezi, himself a former WBO junior flyweight world champion, promises to be an exciting bout and offers Dapudong another opportunity of winning a world boxing title.
Buthelezi is not as experienced as Dapudong?s other opponents in the world level fights. With a record of 12 wins, 4 KOs with 3 losses two of these coming by KO, Buthelezi is obviously not in the league of Marquez, Uicab or Jimenez, the three Mexican fighters who Dapudong fought.
Besides, Buthelezi is coming off a knockout loss to Mexico?s Adrian Hernandez in a fight for the WBC light flyweight title in September of 2011 and has not fought since.
Dapudong, on the other hand, has a respectable record of 27 wins (15 by KO) and 4 losses, with only one stoppage loss, the fight against Marquez.
Given the disparity in experience and even in KO percentage, Dapudong certainly has an edge over Buthelezi.
The only thing that stands in the way of the realization of Dapudong?s dream of becoming a world champion would be the hometown decision factor, which South Africa is very known for.
There is, however, one very effective formula to neutralize hometown decisions: a knockout.
A knockout victory is something that Dapudong should aim to achieve to avoid becoming a victim of a hometown decision.
