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Philippines, 18 Nov 2025 |
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A BOXING SHOW LIKE NO OTHER Bautista's ring comeback will have glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas fight card By Emmanuel B. Villaruel PhilBoxing.com Tue, 23 Oct 2007  The men behind the Third Force Promotions led by former PBA commissioner Jose Emmanuel "Noli" Eala are cooking up a grand comeback for Boholano boxing sensation Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista that will have a touch of countless blockbuster shows being done in Las Vegas in the past. Bautista (23-1, 17KOs) is set to make his first ring appearance since his devastating first-round KO loss to WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon two months ago when he takes on the deadly Mexican hitman Antonio Bario Meza (23-2, 16KOs) headlining the "PAYBACK" card on December 2 at the Araneta Coliseum. Eala forms a consortium with well-known sports personalities that include Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim, ALA Boxing Gym big boss Antonio "Bidoy" L. Aldeguer, and ABC-5 top executives Tony Boy Cojuangco and Eric Tagle that aims to transform boxing to a world class entertainment in the country. "The group that we put together is simply a group that wants to have boxing in general. Elevate the sport not only as a viable television event, but also a viable spectator event. I guess the people behind it should be given credit because they have really shown a lot of commitment to make boxing even grow from where is it right now," said Eala. The group will launch their ambitious bid with the Bautista fight and Eala hopes to make it a boxing show like no other. "December 2 is the date of the return of Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista to bigtime boxing. We're very honored and proud to be partnering with the fabled ALA Boxing Stable to put together this card," said Eala in a press conference yesterday at the Magnolia Conference Room of City Sports Club-Cebu. Top photo: Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista (back facing the camera) and AJ "Bazooka" Banal doing their weight training routine at the ALA Gym yesterday. 
Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista speaks to the media during yesterday's presscon at the City Sports Club in Cebu. 
Former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala, of Third Force Promotions, speaks to the media during yesterday's presscon at the City Sports Club in Cebu. 
ABC Channel 5 executive and well-known businessman Tony Boy Cojuanco explains the role of television for the upcoming Dec. 2 event. "We are promising that this fight will not only be an exciting fight card, but will also be full of the Las Vegas glitz and glamour. The style that has brought and endeared boxing to many, many fans all over the world," he added. Eala said the way Las Vegas people are promoting boxing is the style and class their conglomerate would want to put to a start together. "We think that it's time that we are all treated to that kind of boxing event. We promise to make this event as memorable one to boxing fans and to all supporters of boxing in the Philippines," said Eala. Leading to the fight date, Eala said there will be a lot of promotions in Manila including the holding of a public workout and weigh-in at one of the country's biggest shopping malls. "We really want to announce that there is an event of such kind. This is really a big fight for Bautista and Banal. This is a stepping stone for both boxers to get to the next level. Hopefully for Boom Boom to get a rematch or another world championship crack," said Eala. Among of the events being lined up is the "Training Day at the Mall" wherein the boxers, upon their arrival in Manila, will hold a public workout so the people can see them in actual training in a commercial mall. "We will also have a public weigh-in at a mall, the same way the Las Vegas people do it. We will have a special program just for the weigh-in. The press conference will be done the way it is being done by Top Rank or Golden Boy. On the day of the fight, the whole look of the Coliseum will be done like the Las Vegas set up," said Eala. Eala said even the television coverage will be done pretty much like the HBO way. ABC-5 in partnership with Solar Sports will air the fight live via satellite on per-per-view basis here and possibly in the United States. "The coverage of television network ABC-5 will be very similar to how HBO does it. Even our breaks between fights will have some entertainment portions never seen even in Las Vegas. So it's a different kind of event," said Eala. "We don't only want to show exciting and hard fights in the ring, we also want to see a lot of sidelights. We want to show to the people that boxing is not just about trading punches, but is also a world-class event that brings so much entertainment." Eala added they're also working of a promotion wherein they might give house and lot for those who are watching the fight itself. "We really want to promote Boom Boom as the next big, big attraction of the Philippines. We feel he deserves it. He still has a long way to go as far as his future is concerned," said Eala. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Emmanuel B. Villaruel.  |
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