REY ‘BOOM Boom’ Bautista enhanced his already glowing international status by scoring another sensational knockout win that will surely be the talk of the town in the days to come.
This early, he’s trumpeted to become a great champion someday, like his compatriot Manny Pacquiao.
Displaying a new-found composure not expected from a young warrior like him, the Cebuano phenom flattened one-time world title challenger Roberto Bonilla in the third round yesterday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Bautista’s win also proved that his third round win over Mexico’s Gerardo Espinoza and a stirring 10-round decision over Columbia’s Felix Flores were no fluke.
The 19-year-old Bautista ran his record to 20-0, with 14 knockouts. Bonilla, 31, is now 23-8.
The end came at 2:36 of the fateful round when Bautista floored Bonilla with a left hook to the forehead.
Before Bonilla was counted out by referee Pat Russell, Bautista was pounding the Nicaraguan with heavy shots to the head and body.
“He is one of the best 19-year-old fighters I’ve ever seen. He’s already a polished fighter,” remarked HBO commentator Bob Sheridan.
Bautista’s poise was noticeable from the onset as he first sized up the style of his rival before peppering him with whistling blows that caught Bonilla flat-footed many times.
But after connecting a number of short and wicked body shots about a minute of the opening round, Bautista started to dictate the bout all the way through and eventually dismantled Bonilla with surgical precision.
“That’s what future world champions look like in fights like this” said Dave Bontempo who was with Sheridan in doing the HBO coverage.
Bautista (20-0, 15 KO’s), through manager Tony Aldeguer, recently forged a promotional deal with boxing icon Oscar Dela Hoya.
With Bautista’s brilliant win, Golden Boy Promotions is expected to underpin the upcoming fights of the Boholano sensation.
Bautista is set to appear beneath the July 2 bout between Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao and Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum.
Also on tap for Bautista is a possible non-title appearance underneath the likely farewell fight of Dela Hoya on September 16.
In the main event, world superfeatherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico narrowly ecaped a 12-round split verdict over a game challenger and former US Olympian Ricardo ‘Rocky’ Juarez.
The bout was actually declared a draw but was later corrected when a retabulation of the scorecards saw Barrera (62-4, 42 KO’s) winning on two of three judges with scores of 115-114 (Ken Morita), 115-113 (Anek Hongtongkam).
The 26-year-old Juarez (25-2, 18 KO’s), in his second world title attempt, gained the nod of judge Duane Ford, 115-114.
Meanwhile in Japan, Filipino boxer Jimrex Jaca bowed to Japanese challenger Nobuhito Honmo via unanimous decision in their 12-round Oriental superfeatherweight bout the other night held at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
