CHICAGO—At around 8 last night in Orange County, California, the lights went out in Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista’s room. In the solitude, he lay alone with his dreams and aspirations, the desire in his eyes glowing in the dark.
On the eve of his young career’s biggest test, I expected Rey to be uneasy, if not frightened. But the 19-year-old marvel from Candijay, Bohol was surprisingly cool as the other side of the pillow. His nerves didn’t churn with fear and not a single wayward butterfly flapped annoyingly around his belly.
“Andam na ko, sir, kondisyon na kaayo. Bakbakbakan ni sa husto ugma (I’m ready now and I’m in good condition. It’s going be a real brawl tomorrow),” he told me just before hitting the sack.
Rey’s date with glory today hit a snag yesterday when his foe failed to make the 118-pound weight limit. And when Felix Murillo, after repeated attempts, couldn’t shed off his extra poundage, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) gave the Bautista camp two options: “Withdraw from the fight or slug it out at 120.”
Rey’s co-manager Mike Koncz and trainer Freddie Roach chose to move forward. Rey is in tip-top shape and is eager to fight. It was too late in the game to let the bugle make the sound of retreat.
“To cancel the fight would be detrimental to Rey’s cause, that’s why Freddie and I decided to go for it. An extra one pound wouldn’t disadvantage us because Murillo is much shorter and wouldn’t have the same leverage as Rey,” Koncz explained.
Rey met his match face-to-face for the first time at around 3 p.m. yesterday, and the Colombian didn’t register any measure of awe in Rey’s big brown eyes. But the heavy-handed Boholano refused to disrespect or underestimate his fellow combatant, “Mura og kaya ra man, sir, pero dili gyud ko mo kompiyansa, unya maningkamot gyud ko og maayo (I think I could handle him, but I’ll never let my guard down and I shall do my best).”
The Bautista-Murillo tussle will raise the curtains for HBO’s double-header today at around 4 p.m. at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (7 a.m. in the morning in Cebu). “Boom-Boom” will share the Lakers locker room with PacMan and Brian Viloria, Koncz said.
I noticed something different about Rey last night. Although his voice remained sweet and reassuring, he was less chatty, unlike our first chatfest, when he didn’t seem to want to stop.
Maybe, the silence was Rey’s equivalent of the calm before the storm.
And if that, indeed, is the case, Felix Murillo is doomed. He will be shaken and rattled by the “Boom-Boom” of Bautista’s unmitigated might.
I hate forecasts, but what the heck. Bautista will win via easy KO, in three extremely violent rounds.
JINGO’S TAKE. Lawyer Jingo Quijano, this column’s resident boxing guru, shares his scholarly take on today’s double dip featuring Morales vs. Raheem and Pacquiao vs. Velazquez.
“Manny’s Mexican opponent is practically a nobody, but this unknown can sneak up on the GenSan juggernaut if he’s not careful. I just hope that PacMan is in great physical condition,” Jingo said.
“Manny can be outboxed, like Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez did, but if he is in superb condition, he is amazingly dangerous and his power tends to wear down his opponents. Having said that, I don’t expect much trouble for Manny today.
“What has me salivating is the Raheem-Morales bout. Zahir Raheem is a very live underdog, a 1996 Olympian, who TKO’d our very own Luisito Espinosa in 2002. He has fast hands and throws clean, accurate combinations. He also brandishes a wicked hammer for a right hand.
“By giving a young and hungry Raheem the chance of a lifetime, Morales is taking a great risk…What’s your take?”
Well, I have it the other way around. I think Manny’s the one who’s in for a tough outing. Velazquez is a veteran who can take a punch. He may be 30, but he’s sturdy. And the Tijuana native doesn’t seem to be intimidated by Manny’s rap as The Destroyer, vowing to rumble punch-for-punch.
Raheem is a smart pug with extraordinary ring generalship, but I don’t expect him to find any traction in his offense. That’s because the 5-foot-8 Morales is taller and he enjoys a slight two-inch advantage with a 72-inch reach.
Morales is one year older than the 28-year-old Raheem. But at 29, Erik isn’t old, just vastly more experienced. He is also bigger, stronger and more powerful, as evidenced by a stellar 48-2 (34 KOs) record.
The 5-7 Raheem (26-1, 16 KOs) will have his moments early in the fight, but in the end, he will experience one of the most “El Terrible” experiences of his boxing career.
LAST WORDS. From Rodger (Padilla SKC Rodrigo >[email protected]): “Your two articles about ‘Boom-Boom’ Bautista were very touching. I thought I was tough but I ended up reaching for my Kleenex box. I’m proud of you being a fellow Cebuano.”
Well, Rodger, if you are a US Marine as your e-mail address suggests, I’m very proud of you, too.
