IF everything goes on as planned, the Philippines will have four boxing world champions before the end of the year.
Topping the list is Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, the mandatory challenger of World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon of Mexico.
Bautista’s mentor, well-known boxing manager Tony Aldeguer, told BusinessMirror yesterday about the possibility of staging the Ponce de Leon-Bautista title bout on August 11 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.
“I still want to promote that fight here in the Philippines. But HBO also wants Ponce de Leon-Bautista to top a much bigger card at the Arco Arena and that seems to be the direction of our talks,” said Aldeguer in a telephone interview from Cebu.
Aldeguer said Bautista’s title challenge would headline the long-planned RP-Mexico World Cup of Boxing in Sacramento which has been the pet project of Golden Boy Promotions.
“It’s too difficult for us to hold that event here. All we can do is to promote Bautista’s fight here in the Philippines but definitely not the World Cup,” added Aldeguer.
The 20-year-old Bautista (23-0, 17 knockouts) is coming off a hard-earned 12-round victory over Sergio Manuel Medina of Argentina last month at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The bout was one of the supporting bouts of the gigantic 12-round light-middleweight title fight that saw Floyd Mayweather Jr. winning the crown over boxing superstar Oscar de la Hoya via 12-round split decision.
Bautista scored big in the last two rounds by flooring the clever Medina with a perfectly-timed right straight to the jaw in the 11th round. He eventually scored a 12-round decision.
In the same Sacramento gig, former world super-flyweight champion Gerry Pe?alosa will challenge defending champion Jhonny Gonzalez in a 12-round WBO bantamweight title clash.
Pe?alosa has been wanting to get a rematch with Ponce de Leon after the Mexican dealt the veteran Filipino warrior a controversial 12-round verdict last March in a WBO title fight.
Instead, the 34-year-old Pe?alosa (51-6-2, 34 KOs) agreed to settle for the lanky Gonzalez (34-5, 29 KOs).
Pe?alosa said he is more comfortable fighting in the bantamweight division and feels good about his chances of dethroning Gonzalez.
The third fighter who will be challenging for a world title is Rizal-based Florante Condes, christened Little Manny Pacquiao because of his amazing punching power.
The 27-year-old Condes will try to snatch the International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimum weight crown behind enemy lines against reigning champion and local hero Muhammad Rachman (61-5-5, 31 KOs) on June 16 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The southpaw Condes, the current RP champion, stopped all but one in his 21 victories with 3 losses and one draw.
About a month from now, Filipino-American Nonito “Flas” Donaire, Jr. gets his own chance at the IBF flyweight belt as he battles undefeated knockout artist Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan at the Harbour Yard Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Donaire, with a record of 17-1 with 10 knockouts, is a General Santos City native who speaks the Visayan dialect fluently. He lost a controversial points verdict to Hawaiian Brian Viloria during the 2000 US Olympic Trials.
The lanky 24-year-old Donaire is now based in San Leandro, Calfornia and is trained by his father Nonito Sr.
The 31-year-old Darchinyan is unscathed in 28 fights and stopped 22 of his foes in his seven-year career.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao is about to conclude his Orlando stroll with his family and is scheduled to be in New York tomorrow.
The 27-year-old Pacquiao will be staying at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel near Times Square while waiting for this weekend’s 82nd Boxing Writers Association of America at the Copacabana.
Pacquiao will receive his 2006 Fighter of the Year Award from BWAA while his guru Freddie Roach gets his own trophy as best trainer.
Pacquiao will also be at ringside Sunday to watch kid brother Bobby battle Mexican tough guy Humberto Soto in a nontitle affair at the Madison Square Garden.
