CHICAGO – As a thick crowd gathered for the official weigh-in, he slithered almost unnoticed from the main door to the west side of the Waldorf room at the third floor of the Chicago Hilton.
He wore a pair of white sweat pants with thin black and yellow stripes on the side. His cotton sweater was black, and he wore it with the collar raised stiff.
He completed the ensemble with a pair of white and blue Nike running shoes.
While waiting for the official weigh-in to commence, he leaned his sturdy back against the wall and traded light banter with Filipino super bantamweight Bernabe Concepcion.
At about 9 a.m. today in Cebu, depending on how short or long the other fights will last, Rodel Mayol will climb the ring at All-State Arena as he attempts to wrest the IBF light flyweight belt from the tight grip of defending champion Ulises Solis.
Inarguably, the Solis duel is the biggest in Mayol’s career. But if there are butterflies swirling in his stomach, the handsome Mandauehanon is not letting on.
A veteran of 24 fights, Mayol, 25, is cool as the other side of the pillow.
“I’ll do my best,” he says with a smile. “I’ve been a pro boxer since 2000. I learned a lot of things, good and bad, along the way. Hopefully, the experience will serve me well against a great champion like Solis,” Mayol said in Cebuano.
According to Bodog.com, Mayol is a plus-160 underdog, which means that a $100 bet on Mayol will yield a $160 windfall. If I were wealthy, I’d scoop all those bets.
Mayol is worth his weight in light flyweight gold. He is skilled, is fast, and throws crisp, heavy punches. He has a stinging jab, and power in both hands. Rodel has 18 knockouts in 23 wins, a high 78 percent KO rate.
The fly in Rodel’s ointment is the fact that he isn’t a natural light flyweight. He is a minimum weight campaigner who climbed the 108-pound class to challenge Solis. The added poundage raise legitimate questions on whether Mayol can carry his power from 105 to 108.
Maybe, maybe not.
But the fact is, Mayol will carry his skills wherever he goes. He doesn’t have to KO Solis to win the IBF belt, he can punish the Mexican for 12 rounds if that’s what it takes.
Rodel can take a punch. We all know that. But can he take a punch from a 108-pounder such as Solis who has 18 knockouts in 24 wins? That, I don’t know.
But I know for a fact that Mayol is intrepid. He can absorb punishment as well as he can dish it. “I can’t worry about how strong he punches, I can only worry about how to beat him, either by mixing it up or boxing from a distance,” he said.
Godspeed, Rodel Mayol. The entire city of Mandaue is rooting for you. And so, too, is a nation full of boxing-crazy Filipinos.
GESTA IS READY TO RUMBLE. The other Mandauehanon, Mercito Gesta, is ready for his assignment, too.
The 19-year old from Labogon weighed in at 130 pounds. Unbeaten in 11 fights with 3 KOS, Gesta will square off against Carlos Madrid.
“I’ll do everything in my power to come up with the victory,” said the likable Gesta, who sported traces of blond highlights on his ink-black hair.
Bernabe Concepcion also made weight. He will gun for the NABF superbantamweight crown against Gabriel Elizondo of San Antonio, Texas.
POSTSCIRPT. I will do a live blow-by-blow of the Mayol-Solis fight at AM station dyAB this morning. The Gesta fight is scheduled at 5 p.m. (6 a.m. in Cebu). I’ll try to broadcast that one also, if dyAB’s programming permits.
ABS-CBN will cover the fights and they have dispatched Don Tagala for the event. Don called me last night and asked for my help with his credentials. Like always, I’m happy to assist.
Finally, I got an e-mail from Alex Sigua of Maloof Sports Entertainment yesterday. He confirmed my credentials for the World Cup of Boxing this August 11 in Sacramento, California. I will be joined there by Anthony “Duljoman” Andales, whose credential request was also approved.
I will fly to Sacramento on Wednesday. With the kind nod of my editors, this column will appear daily next week.
