WILL Rey Boom-Boom Bautista succumb to his foe?s threat of a knockout win today at Waterfront Hotel in Cebu?
I ask because Heriberto Ruiz, Bautista?s seemingly brash Mexican opponent, immediately bragged upon his arrival on Monday that he will ?knock out? Boom-Boom.
Is he serious? Is the guy for real? Or, to be blunt, is he that good?
You tell me.
I know grandstanding when I see one.
I know hype when I see one.
And, yes, I know a fake when I see one.
In fairness, I?m not about to say Ruiz is a fake. All boxers have a knockout punch. Ruiz should not be an exemption or he ought not to have come at all.
For one, Ruiz has knocked out 28 of his 46 victims in 18 years of professional boxing.
In his last seven fights, he won five–all by knockout. Anytime, that?s something to crow about.
For another, Ruiz is fresh from back-to-back knockout wins going into tonight?s clash for the IBF international featherweight title scheduled for 12 rounds.
So, for all intents and purposes, he?s got a haymaker of a punch.
Also, add the fact he had beaten Boom-Boom the first time they clashed on Nov. 22, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada. That unanimous decision victory could put a psychological baggage on Boom-Boom.
But three years is a long time.
Many things have happened since.
Like, Boom-Boom has knocked out his last four foes in a huge comeback from his points-loss to Ruiz.
Like, against Boom-Boom, the 5?7? Ruiz, at 33, might be too old already. The 5?6? Boom-Boom turns 25 on June 19, the day we celebrate Jose Rizal?s 150th natal day.
And while Ruiz had knocked out 28 opponents, he himself had been stopped four times in the 10 times that he lost since turning pro in 1994.
Boom-Boom is 30-2, his first loss inflicted by Daniel Ponce de Leon by a stunning first-round stoppage in 2007 in Sacramento, California.
Stunning because Boom-Boom had racked up 23 straight wins before that.
But that?s all water under the bridge now, so to speak, and Boom-Boom (23 KOs) had more than rebounded from the stigma of that terrible setback, compiling a 7-1 record since.
Boom-Boom has also tremendously matured that?s why tonight, I pick him to defeat Ruiz by knockout.
A case of beer, Jingo?
