Even Gilberto Bolanos, fighting for the first time before a hostile crowd at the Mandaue Sports Complex in Cebu, could attest to that as the Mexican slugger, badly hurt after being pummeled by Bautista in the first five rounds, refused to come out of his corner in their bantamweight 10-rounder.
He was jeered and heckled by the Cebuanos but Bolanos, in a bid to save himself from further battering, declined to fight again.
Nicknamed “Boom Boom” owing to his thunderous punching, Bautista knocked Bolanos down in the third round with a head-snapping right uppercut. The Mexican got up at the count of eight by referee Teddy Alivio only to be bombarded by the Bohol native’s rights and lefts in the remainder of the round.
“He just quit after feeling so much pain,” Bautista’s chief handler Tony Aldeguer told the Bulletin. Bolanos, the first Mexican to showcase his wares in Cebu, was cut in the left eyebrow in the fourth round.
Bautista had managed to connect with his pet right straight, uppercuts and body shots, forcing Bolanos to quit on his stool.
Being lined next for Bautista, 18, is a fight in Sacramento, California, although nothing is final yet, according to Aldeguer.
“We are just waiting for instructions from our contact in the States, Michael Koncz, who incidentally was impressed by Bautista,” said Aldeguer. Koncz was at ringside Saturday night.
Bautista thus boosted his win-loss card to 16-0 with 12 knockouts.
