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Philippines, 18 May 2024 |
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Balweg Bangoyan fights for Filipino pride in Tokyo PhilBoxing.com Thu, 29 Apr 2010  This Friday night in Tokyo Japan a young Filipino boxer will take his chance at reaching his dream by stepping into the ring with the current WBC World Superbantam Weight Champion, Toshiaki Nishioka. Balweg Bangoyan, the 23 year old Filipino high school sophomore dropout who was jailed for street-fighting when he was 16, decided to make boxing a living after being taken under the wing of his manager Zander Khan and now holds a professional record of 15-0, with 9 of his wins having come from knockout. What is also special about this World title fight is that Bangoyan will carry the logo of Australias very own Elmore Oil Company on his robe and shorts when he enters the ring. The Elmore Oil Company uses Balweg to endorse its charity for street children in the Philippines and the Filipino fighter is an avid endorser of Elmore Oil, using in his training regime to assist his injury recovery program. The Davao del Sur based boxer now feels ?he?s ripe and ready to take on WBC superbantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka? in a 12-round title bout at the Nihon Budokan, Tokyo, this Friday April 30th. ?This is a chance of a lifetime,? said Bangoyan, the oldest of five children. ?Although it?s my first fight abroad, I?m not nervous. I?ve been watching some of Nishioka?s fights and I think he?s beatable. He?s just an average fighter, not exceptionally strong or skilful. He?s the type who stands up and waits for his opponent to come in. He?s not that fast. If I use my brains and power, I think I can take him.? Bangoyan, a two-time WBC International title holder, now ranked No. 11, said he?s dedicating the fight to Jose Abad Santos town Mayor Zander Khan, his manager. Khan took over a stable of some 20 fighters from his uncle Armand Bangoyan, a retired boxer who was killed in an ambush in 1985. ?I owe everything to Mayor Zander,? said Bangoyan. ?He takes care of me and my family. Even my father Felix is employed in his security staff.? Another of Khan?s fighters, Arman Picar, battled Julio Cesar Vasquez for the WBC lightwelterweight crown and lost by a second round knockout in Las Vegas in 1994. Bangoyan?s title shot is only the second for a Khan fighter. ?I like Balweg?s chances,? said Khan. Nishioka is 33 and I think he?s over the hill. Balweg is at his peak and he?s working very hard in the gym.? Bangoyan was training for a bout against Korea?s Jong Won Jong in Digos City in February when he got a call offering the title shot. ?Balweg didn?t want to disappoint the hometown fans and still pushed to fight Jong but the WBC refused to allow it because of the possibility of injury which would cancel the Nishioka bout,? explained Khan. The Elmore Oil Company stepped in to sponsor the fight program in Digos City in March, providing financial support for the 12 fight promotion, which attracted a local crowd in excess of 10,000 people. The Elmore Oil Company is heavily involved in charity work in the Philippines, with the creation of the Elmore Oil Trust Fund for Street Children in 2009. The trust fund, which is totally financed from proceeds from the sale of Elmore Oil in the Philippines, distributes food for street kids by providing mobile vans which operate throughout regional cities, handing out rice and dried food to the needy, and often orphaned, street kids. Bangoyan, whose mother Medelyn Miyake is half-Japanese, said he is proud to be an ambassador for Elmore Oil and The Trust Fund for Street Children, as it provides a better future for so many of the disadvantaged children of the Philippines. Balwegs biggest fight purse so far was just 300,000 pesos for beating Raymond Sermona to claim the vacant WBC International belt last September. His purse for the Nishioka fight will be substantially bigger. ?Nishioka has power so I can?t afford to relax,? he said. ?But he?s not Superman. He was dropped by Jhonny Gonzalez in their fight last May but got up to score a knockout. If I keep my focus, I know I?ll win.? Nishioka?s southpaw style won?t be a problem, said Bangoyan. ?I knocked down Sandie Otieno, who is a southpaw, and beat him on a technical decision two years ago,? he continued. ?Otieno was unbeaten before our fight. I had no difficulty breaking down his left-handed style.? Experience will be on Nishioka?s side. The Japanese turned pro in 1994, eight years before Bangoyan, and has compiled a 35-4-3 record, with 22 KOs. He hasn?t lost in his last 12 outings. Nishioka engaged Thailand?s Veeraphol Sahaprom in four fights for the WBC bantamweight title from 2000 to 2004, losing twice on points and drawing twice. He won the WBC 122-pound title via a 12th round stoppage of Genaro Garcia in January last year and has since repulsed two challengers Gonzalez and Ivan Hernandez. Nishioka has never been defeated by a Filipino and his list of victims includes Reynante Rojo, Rodel Llanita, Joel Avila, Joel Junio and Donaldo Estrella. Fernando Montilla once held him to a draw. If Bangoyan can stop Nishioka he may very well start to share the world boxing spotlight with fellow countryman, Manny Pacquiao, who has been hailed as the greatest pound for pound fighter in boxing history. Top photo: Balweg Bangoyan (C) poses with the Elmore Oil promo girls during his recent fight in Davao City.  |
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