HARD-HITTING Raul Yu must take the fight to Jhaleel Payao if he intends on beating him this Friday night in the main Who?s Next? ?Civil War? at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.
?Yu?s advantage is that he must not let Payao get his rhythm. He must pressure him and fight him up close,? ALA Gym coach Peter Cuizon told SunStar Cebu.
Cuizon knows Payao all too well because he once trained at the ALA Gym as an amateur.
?Payao is very hard to fight. I know him because he used to be an amateur here. He knows how to pick his shots and he?s big. The kid?s a very good fighter,? said Cuizon.
The 23-year-old Yu last saw action eight months ago, wherein he lost by unanimous decision against Jade Bornea in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) Youth super flyweight bout in Gen. Santos City.
Payao has won his last four fights and is coming off a fifth round stoppage of Jason Tinampay.
Yu is 9-2-2 with eight knockouts, while the 24-year-old Payao is 15-1 with nine knockouts.
Jason Canoy (26-7-2, 19 KOs), in the meantime, is taking on Renerio Arizala (13-7-2, 5 KOs) in a keep-busy, 10-round fight in the show?s co-main event.
Canoy is eager to return to the ring after a long layoff and showcase his new knowledge as a sparring partner for Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue.
?(Naoya) is very quick and very strong, and has power in both hands,? said Canoy, who was one of Inoue?s sparring partners in preparation for his World Boxing Organization (WBO) super flyweight title defense against Antonio Nieves, in a statement. ?Every punch was painful so I really learned a lot.?
Also featured in the show are Payao and Canoy?s stablemates at the Omega Boxing Gym, Kenny Demecillo and Tomjune Mangubat.
Demecillo (12-4-2, 7 KOs) is up against experienced Gerpaul Valero (21-19-4, 15 KOs) in what should be a barnburner, while Mangubat (7-0, 7 KOs) slugs it out with Crisanto Contemprato (6-3-1, 4 KOs). (EKA)
