Everything is now set for Survival Instinct: Matira Matibay, an explosive 13-bout, all-day boxing card headlined by 2012 London Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga on May 13 at the SM Skydome in Quezon City.
Barriga (8-0, 1 KO) faces Colombia’s Gabriel Mendoza (29-5-2, 23 KOs) at minimumweight in the 12-round main event which also serves as an International Boxing Federation (IBF) title eliminator. The winner will be the mandatory challenger to Japan’s Hiroto Kyoguchi, the reigning IBF 105 lb. champion.
As much as boxing fans want to see Barriga vs. Mendoza, the stacked undercard of Survival Instinct: Matira Matibay features other marquee prospects from the Survival Camp — the stable of current IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas — who will work up the raucous Filipino crowd into a frenzy.
Supporting the main event of this card presented by MP Promotions and Knuckleheads Pro Boxing Fraternity in cooperation with Joven Sports Promotions will be a 10-round tussle between AJ “Bazooka” Banal (35-2-1, 23 KOs), who is looking to inject new life in his career after joining the Survival Camp of coach Joven Jimenez, and Master Suro (12-13-1, 2 KOs) of Indonesia.
Also eyeing a successful return is Marvin Sonsona (21-1-1, 15 KOs). The former world WBO champion Sonsona is coming out of a three-year hiatus to figure in a six-round fight against Arief Blader (23-27-2, 8 KOs) of Indonesia.
Another fighter to watch is recent world featherweight title challenger Genesis Servania, who pushed WBO titlist Oscar Valdez to the limit in his decision loss last September. The 26-year-old Servania (30-1, 12 KOs) is making his first fight appearance in the Philippines since 2015 opposite Indonesia’s Jason Butar Butar (27-23-1, 18 KOs) in an 8-round bout.
Three other boxers from the Survival Camp fighting in the undercard are Samuel Salva, James Eternina and Jerald Paclar. Salva (12-0, 8KOs) goes up against Jeven Villacite (4-5, 1 KO), Eternina (10-0-1, 4 KOs) faces Adam Diu Abdulhamid (11-5, 4 KOs), and Paclar (13-4-2) battles Jerven Mama (5-4, 3 KOs).
Here are the other matches that complete the Survival Instinct: Matira Matibay fight card:
Marco Rementizo (6-1, 4 KOs) vs. Romen Tenorio (3-2-1, 2 KOs)
Ariston Aton (5-0) vs. Alvin Defeo (2-4-2)
Dave Apolinario (6-0-4) vs. Michael Mendoza (5-1-2, 1 KO)
Lolito Sonsona (21-2-4, 9 KOs) vs. Macrea Gandionco (12-6-3, 7 KOs)
Kenneth Alquiza (2-0, 2 KOs) vs. Miel Fajardo (2-1-1, 2 KOs)
Rostom Doronio (2-0, 2 KOs) vs. Luis Borje (pro debut)
The Alquiza-Fajardo and Doronio-Borje bouts will comprise the non-televised portions of the card. All other bouts will air live on either ESPN5 or AksyonTV with livestream on ESPN5.com.
Tickets for Survival Instinct: Matira Matibay are available at select SM Cinema outlets and online at SMTickets.com. Gates open at 10:00AM with a special pre-event live screening of the Jorge Linares-Vasyl Lomachenko World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight title fight.
