Challenger Jimrex Jaca easily made the weight for his scheduled 12-round Oriental title fight against Nobuhito Honmo today at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Jaca, the one-time OPBF superbantamweight, came in at 127.4 lbs. during a weigh-in yesterday while his rival weighed 129.6 lbs.
The 22-year-old Jaca is fresh from a resounding first round knockout victory over Geronimo Hernandez in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jaca scored the stunning victory beneath the classic 12-round rematch between Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao and Mexican idol Erik Morales last January.
Meanwhile, Boholano teenage sensation Rey ‘Boom Boom’ Bautista is set to invade the superbantamweight division, the same category once ruled by Pacquiao.
The 19-year-old Bautista, who started his career as a superflyweight three years ago, will make his debut in the 122-lb category tomorrow (Manila time) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles by facing Roberto Bonilla of Nicaragua.
The Bautista-Bonilla bout is scheduled for 10 rounds which will also serve as the undercard of the World Boxing Council (WBC) superfeatherweight title fight between defending champion Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico and American Ricardo ‘Rocky’ Juarez.
The Candijay-native Bautista (19-0, 14 KO’s) once reigned as the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific bantamweight ruler.
For his encounter with Bonilla (22-7, 13 KO’s), Bautista trained at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood under famed American guru Freddie Roach and sparred with current world superbantamweight champion Israel Vasquez and world lightweight king Juan Diaz.
The southpaw Pacquiao gained international prominence when he snatched the world superbantamweight diadem from Lehlo Ledwaba of South Africa in June 2001 in Las Vegas.
In another development Davao native Vernie Torres lost his bout to top-ranked superflyweight contender Jose Navarro the other day at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
