CEBU, Philippines – WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight champion ?Prince? Albert Pagara (25-0, 18KOs) braces for an all-out war as he faces Nicaraguan Yesner “Cuajadita” Talavera (15-3, 4KOs) in the main event of ?Pinoy Pride 35: Stars of Future? fightcard tonight at the Pacific grand ballroom of Waterfront-Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Barangay Lahug.
?I can see it in his (Talavera) eyes that he is not scared. He is hungry for my title and that motivates me to give everything in this fight,? said the 21-year-old Pagara. ?I will show him why I?m still undefeated.?
The pride of Maasin City showed he’s in tip-top shape after easily weighing in at 120 lbs.. Talavera is one and a half pound heavier during the official weigh-in yesterday at the atrium of Robinsons Galleria Cebu.
?He (Talavera) can give me a good battle because he looked ready, but a lot is at stake for me in this fight so I am surely going for a knockout,? Pagara added.
It was earlier announced that ALA Promotions has already planned a July show San Francisco, California to be headlined by Pagara.
?Hopefully he (Pagara) will use this chance to show that he is really up there in his division,? said ALA Promotions President and CEO Michael Aldeguer. ?But we should not take Talavera lightly because the Nicaraguan came here to fight.? Freeman ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch:
In the supporting bout, Mark ?Magnifico? Magsayo (12-0, 10KOs) will also go for the kill against Mexican brawler Eduardo ?Fierita? Montoya (17-4, 13KOs) in their WBO Youth featherweight championship match scheduled for 10-rounds.
?This guy will try to knock me out, but that it is also my plan so let?s just see if which one of us will kiss the canvas,? said Magsayo, who scaled in at 125 lbs. same as his Mexican challenger.
The pride of Tagbilaran City, Bohol is out to make an impression to make sure that he will be included in the undercard of Nonito Donaire’s WBO super bantamweight title defense against Hungarian Szolt Bedak on April 23 at the Cebu City Sports Center.
?That is one of my inspirations going into this fight. It would be great fighting in one event together with my idol (Donaire),? said Magsayo, who is groomed to fight one-time world title challenger Chris Avalos.
In the other feature of action-packed card bankrolled by ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports, former amateur standout Kevin Jake ‘KJ’ Cataraja (2-0, 2KOs) will face an acid test as he takes on his first Mexican foe in Tony Rodriguez (4-1, 1KO).
The rest of the bouts pit Melvin ?Gringo? Jerusalem (8-0, 7KOs) vs former world champion Florante Condes (27-9, 23KOs), Jeo ?Santino? Santisima (8-2, 7KOs) vs Marco Demecillo (21-4, 16KOs), and Elmo ?Bisdak? Traya (10-1, 8KOs) vs Romeo Jakosalem (16-11, 8KOs). (FREEMAN)
