CEBU, Philippines – Light welterweight contender Jason ‘El Ni?o’ Pagara of Cebu’s fabled ALA Boxing Gym said he has a come a long way in the sport he loves most and that he has nothing left to chase other than his ultimate goal to become a world champion.
When he laced his first pair of gloves at a very young age, Pagara admitted that there is only thing in his mind – to help his family get out of poverty.
But right now, his priorities have changed and that is to be the king of the hill in his division.
“I started fighting in the amateur at eight and I had my first professional bout at age 14. At that time, I only wanted to be in boxing so I can earn money to help my parents, but now that I already reached this status, I am serious in getting that world title as soon as I can get a shot at it,” said Pagara.
Pagara is unfazed knowing the fact that he belongs in the elite division full of strong and skillful fighters.
“They always say that I am in a very dangerous division and it will be so hard for me to get the world title,” said the Cagayan de Oro City-native ring gladiator. “But I am not discouraged. Instead, it fuels me more to reach my goals.” Freeman ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch:
Pagara is the No.1 contender in the WBO 140-pound division currently ruled by unbeaten Terrence Crawford. Aside from the American champion, the other big names under his weight class are Ruslan Provodnikov, Lucas Matthyse, Chris Algieri and Jessie Vargas.
“Right now,we can say that Jason is already an experienced fighter. He has improved a lot in terms of skills and he is just waiting for a chance,” said ALA chief trainer Edito Villamor. “It also depends on who he’s going to face and if the name will be there, then we will train for that.”
Villamor hopes that Pagara could deliver a sensational win in his next fight especially that Top Rank big boss b Arum will be in attendance.
Pagara (37-2, 23KOs) will practically stahe everything in his career as he faces the dangerous Mexican Miguel ?Mikol? Zamodio (35-8, 21KOs) on the undercard of Nonito Donaire’s WBO super bantamweight title defense against Hungarian challenger Zsolt Bedak on April 23 at the Cebu City Sports Center.
“If Jason can put on a show, then we will be expecting Bob Arum to give him big fights,” added Villamor. (FREEMAN)
