TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines ? Bohol?s pride Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista easily dismantled ?fake? Mexican rival Genaro Garcia, who was in poor form and had no fighting style, to the dismay of the fans in the ?Pinoy Pride XII: Bakbakan sa Bohol? Saturday night at the Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex here.
Barely a minute from the opening bell, a throng of spectators at the general admission had already headed to the exit after seeing the Mexican was not the real Genaro Garcia contracted by ALA Promotions to fight Bautista.
Out of pity, Bautista toyed around with Garcia in the opening round then the reigning IBF International featherweight champion buckled down to work in the second round and landed a big left that flattened Garcia.
The Mexican got up quickly but a powerful right straight by Bautista sent him down again, prompting referee Bruce MacTavish to stop the bout at the 1:24 mark.
Jeers from the displeased crowd broke out after Bautista?s victory was announced.
?It seemed to me that he (Garcia) is not a boxer. The way he throws his punches is very awkward,? said a tricyle driver who refused to be named.
Bautista himself had mixed emotions over his win.
?I?m happy that I won, but disappointed at the same time because he?s not the one I was supposed to fight. I really felt bad upon learning about it, but I have no other choice than to face him because he?s already here. In the end, we?re all victims here,? said Bautista.
?Despite what had happened, I?m still very thankful to my fans for coming over to watch my fight,? said Bautista.
ALA Promotions president and CEO Michael Aldeguer admitted that the incident was a huge drawback for them. They, however, vowed to take legal action against Mexican matchmaker/agent Victor Hugo Correa for shortchanging them.
?It?s really a big loss for us because it?s a huge card. It?s so disappointing but it happened. We have to go to the bottom of this. We won?t take this sitting down,? said Aldeguer. ?We will communicate with the Mexican boxing commission and our contact (Correa) to find out what really happened. In our 25 years, this has never happened to us but we take full responsibility for it.?
Aldeguer also said they are planning to bring the ?real? Genaro Garcia here to slug it out with the ALA Boxing Gym stalwart within the year.
?Of course, we would still like to bring the ?real? Genaro Garcia here. We will work on it because we owe it to the public,? said Aldeguer.
The 25-year-old Bautista was originally scheduled to go up against Genaro ?Poblanito? Garcia, a grizzled veteran who has fought eight world champions and with an impressive 37-8 (21 KOs) record.
Last Thursday, Genaro Garcia, complete with the necessary papers to travel and fight in the country, showed up but it was later found out by the promoters, through the help of the inquisitive members of the Cebu press, that he wasn?t the real one.
The one who came was actually Genaro ?Panterita? Garcia, a virtual unknown with a fight record of 10 wins and 11 losses.
Aldeguer said they already sensed something wrong when the Mexican told them during the pre-fight press conference that it was not he who appeared in the promotional posters. Also, he arrived alone and was four pounds overweight during the weigh-in.
Upon realizing that they got the wrong opponent for their prized ward, Aldeguer decided to push through with the event but decided to open it to the public and reimbursed those who have already purchased the tickets.
For ALA Boxing Gym big boss Antonio ?Bidoy? Aldeguer, the heavy financial loss was already immaterial, saying what is important is for them to keep their credibility intact.
