LOS ANGELES — Set the date to August 11. Golden Boy Promotions announced that the highly anticipated Philippine vs. Mexico World Cup of boxing will be at the Arco Arena in Sacramento. HBO Boxing After Dark will telecast the event live for HBO viewers.
“This is a terrific event,” said Ramiro Gonzalez, public relations director of Golden Boy Promotions. “We’ve been listening to the Mexican and Filipino people, this is the match up that they want and we’re all very excited.”
“The world cup will continue the longstanding Philippine-Mexico boxing rivalry,” he added.
There were initial talks that the world cup of boxing between the two countries would take place in the Philippines. Gonzalez said that due to circumstances the better fit was Arco Arena.
“Sacramento has a lot of Filipinos; it’s a good market for Filipinos,” he said.
Asked if there were possible financial difficulties on bringing the world cup of boxing to the Philippines, Gonzalez responded: “[Finances] was not a problem,” he said. “Oscar [De La Hoya] was very much looking forward to going to the Philippines but financially it wasbetter here and HBO wanted to telecast it for their Boxing After Darkspecial. Arco Arena was the better scenario.”
Filipinos Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista and Gerry Penalosa will highlight the two championship fights of the night. Other fighters has yet to be announced but inside word is AJ Banal, who had a stellar win in the De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather undercard on May 5, will also be part of the world cup of boxing undercard. In the main event of the evening, World Boxing Organization Junior Featherweight World Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon (31-1, 28 KO’s) of Chihuahua, Mexico will put his title on the line against “Boom Boom”Bautista (23-0, 17 KO’s) of Bohol, Philippines.
The 122-pound fight will pit the No. 1 WBO contender against the current champion.
“I think this fight will be on another level,” said Gonzalez. “Bautista is a good technician plus he possesses a lot of power. Ponce De Leon showed that during the Penalosa fight he had no technique. This will be a very exciting match.”
Bautista earned the right to fight Ponce De Leon and his championship belt after a very impressive 12-round unanimous decision win in a title-eliminator match against No. 2 WBO contender Sergio Medina of Argentina on the De La Hoya vs. Mayweather undercard.
The co-featured main event will pit two boxing veterans.
After suffering a controversial unanimous decision defeat against Ponce De Leon in March, Penalosa (51-6-2, 34 KO’s) will try to regain his swagger when he faces Jhonny Gonzalez (34-5, 29 KO’s) of Pachuca, Mexico for the WBO Bantamweight crown.
“Because of Penalosa’s performance in the Ponce De Leon match, Golden Boy gave him another title shot,” said Gonzalez.
Penalosa might fare better this time around fighting in the 118 pounds division as opposed to 122 pounds, where Ponce De Leon had a sizable physical difference. E-mails to the Ala Boxing Gym in Cebu City, Philippines home to Bautista and Banal were not immediately returned. Phone calls to Penalosa’s manager Billy Keane were also not returned as of press time.
Golden Boy Promotions created the world cup of boxing in 2005. The country with the most victories at the world cup will be awarded a specially engraved trophy made by IceLink.
In 2005, Mexico won the first ever world cup of boxing compiling a five win to one loss record against Thailand.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and Arco Arena on June 15starting at $40.
Manny Pacquiao update
Things are not looking well for Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao.
In May, Pacquiao conceded a congressional defeat against incumbent Darlene Antonino-Custodio for the South Cotabato first district seat; In June, he watched his brother Bobby get knocked out against Humberto Soto in New York City, and now he is in Los Angeles regarding his role in the legal battle between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The dispute is about which company has the right to represent the boxer.
In September of 2006, Pacquiao signed a seven-fight contract with Golden Boy Promotions and received a $500,000 cash-signing bonus. Two months later, Pacquiao reportedly signed a four-fight contract with Bob Arum and Top Rank, receiving a $1 million bonus.
Gonzalez confirmed reports on June 14 that Pacquiao has met and gave a deposition with Golden Boy lawyers. Gonzalez did not delve into further details but did add that, “he [Pacquiao] will be here all week.” (www.asianjournal.com)
