JASON Canoy has missed the cheers and jeers, the limelight, the feeling of being on top of the ring and trading fists with an opponent. He has missed boxing, the thing that he loves and does best, after taking a long layoff of more than six months.
After finally getting a fight, the 26-year-old veteran is eager to go out and put on a show tonight in the main event of ?Uptown Rumble!? at One Mango.
?I missed going up in the ring. My conditioning right now is different. I?m very confident that I will win. I won?t promise what round, but a knockout will happen,? Canoy said after tipping the scales at 118.6 pounds in the show?s weigh-in at Plaza Pino yesterday.
Canoy faces former World Boxing Association (WBA) Asia bantamweight champion Jestoni Autida in a 10-round free boxing show by Omega Pro Sports International.
Canoy?s confidence was at an all-time high after he knocked out former interim world champion Drian Francisco in May of last year. But after a six-month hiatus, he lost his rhythm and dropped a unanimous decision to rookie Hinata Maruta in Japan.
?I didn?t expect I would knock him (Francisco) out that easy. That really boosted my confidence,? he said. ?I didn?t fight for months and I lost my confidence. I also underestimated my opponent (Maruta). He really beat me because he was very skillful.?
Canoy hopes to put his career back on track with an impressive win over Autida.
It won?t be that easy though, because Autida also has his own plans of coming back strong after also losing his last fight, a second round stoppage against Ryo Matsumoto in Japan.
?My advantage is my height. I will use my reach and fight intelligently,? said Autida, who weighed-in slightly heavier at 119.8 pounds.
Canoy is 24-6-2 with 18 knockouts, while the 25-year-old Autida is 9-4 with four knockouts.
