At first, we thought the coast is clear for these three world-class Filipino fighters, but then as always, politics came into the picture that prevented these Filipino pugs of their dream for a title match that they have been longing for throughout their careers.
Newly installed WBC #1 ranked strawweight Filipino Rodel Mayol thought he would be next in line after current champion Katsunari Takayama of Japan defended his belt against top contender Isaac Bustos, but low and behold, Takayama will instead meet former number one contender and loser from an elimination bout Eagle Kyowa of Thailand in a scheduled title bout this August. Actually, the WBC in their March rankings already ranked Rodel Mayol number one, but then politics came in to play as surprisingly, the name of Eagle Kyowa was suddenly reinstated as number one contender in their April rankings. The camp of Eagle Kyowa was contesting that their fighter suffered a shoulder injury during Kyowa’s elimination bout with Isaac Bustos, thus making the loss as inaccurate. With this, the WBC gave Kyowa the right to face Takayama this August. It was a clear show of politics inside the WBC, reinstating Kyowa as the mandatory challenger favored the Japanese Takayama than the Thai Kyowa because the Japanese camp knows very well how dangerous the Filipino fighter is. Rodel Mayol never lost to a Japanese fighter and in fact, acquired his OPBF strawweight belt via first round KO from Japanese Genki Ohnaka.
As a consolation for the Filipinos, while waiting for the winner of the Takayama-Kyowa title bout, Mayol is being penciled in to fight Takayama victim Isaac Bustos in July. The Mexican Bustos was always on top of the rankings, but his recent loss to Takayama made his name disappear in any of the alphabet soup rankings. Isaac Bustos is a veteran 30-yr. old fighter and Mayol’s handlers could have seen the best of Bustos that they believe the Mexican is now ready for the picking while at the same time benefiting from the rich experience of the Mexican. This bout is being push at the moment and no confirmation yet if this fight would push through.
Another Filipino who is inching in for a title fight is WBC#11 and IBF# 6 super flyweight contender Malcolm Tunacao. Sources said Tuncao, a former champion himself, is being lobbied to face WBA #2 contender Alexander Munoz to serve as an elimination bout to earn the right to face current champion Martin Castillo. However, it turned out to be that the Venezuelan Munoz would be facing #9 ranked Julio David Roque in an elimination bout. Actually, saying that Tunacao is a victim of politics may not be as proper as what happened to Mayol because Tunacao is not even rated in the WBA rankings. However, the question is why has Tunacao not been reinstated as a contender in the WBA rankings even though there was an investment from the Tunacao camp to install him as one of the contenders in the WBA. What is more astonishing here is that Roque earned the right for an elimination bout even though he is a lowly ranked number nine contender.
Lastly, Randy Suico after an impressive win over a Thai opponent just recently found himself on the receiving end again of the WBC. After losing a controversial decision to Mzonke Fana in South Africa, the Filipino realized that the break that he has been hoping for would have to elude him again as the WBC recently installed the Jesus Chavez who just coming back to the ring after a long layoff to face Carlos Hernandez in an elimination bout for the right to be the next challenger to face current champion Marco Antonio Barrera. This move of the WBC is quite surprising as Randy Suico is ranked higher than Chavez and Hernandez. Currently, Morales and Pacquiao are the top contenders in Barrera’s throne, these two are the moneymakers in the division and with their big reputation, no question they deserved their lofty billings. With Morales and Pacquiao as moneymakers, expect them not to follow the normal route in their division and with the recent loss of Fana to Barrera, Randy Suico is the logical choice to be the next challenger for the ‘baby face assassin’s” throne. It is all water under the bridge now for Suico and what he could hope for is to wait for the next WBC ruling. While waiting for his break, it is best for Suico to hone his skills further by getting a trainer outside the respected Juanito Ablaca or to fight outside Asia, this move should benefit Suico and could prepare him for the coming bigger fights destined for him.
The Filipino fighters are just patiently waiting and the longer it takes, the more they become tigers, and no matter how the opposition will try to hide and avoid them, time will destine them to catch these paper champs!
