ALA Boy Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista will face an even tougher foe after Chilean boxer Moises Gutierrez failed to acquire a US visa.
The Boholono boxing sensation will fight Brazilian superbantamweight king Giovanni “Bombardeio” Andrade, who hails from the same place where WBO lightweight king Acelino Freitas came—Bahia.
Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz personally picked Andrade as Bautista’s opponent because of his impressive credentials, which include a formidable fight experience and his knockout punch.
The 36-year-old Andrade holds a 51-9, win-loss ring record. He also has 42 knockouts to his credit. Most of his loses were for either world title or minor regional fights.
Long reign
He lost to Johnny Tapia for the WBO superflyweight title, for the WBA Fedelatin title to Martin Honorio, and the WBA superbantamweight interim title to Celestino Caballero. Andrade also fought for the International Boxing Council featherweight title, the North American Boxing Association superbantamweight title and the International Boxing Organization super-bantamweight belt.
However, he had a long reign as the Brazilian superflyweight, bantamweight and super-bantamweight champion. Aside from the Brazilian national 122 lbs title, Andrade is also the concurrent Pan-American, Sao Paulo State and Mercosur super-bantamweight champion.
“We have big plans for Boom-Boom, said Lewkowicz, when he relayed the latest development to ALA Gym’s Sammy Gello-ani. “But we are not rushing things.
Boom-Boom can learn much from Andrade because of his experience. And this will be a good testing ground for Boom-Boom before he fight for the world title.”
Busy August
Andrade, however, will have a very busy August before fighting the Candijay-Bohol native Bautista.
According to Boxrec.com boxing site, Andrade is scheduled to fight Derrick Gainer for the United States Boxing Association regional lightweight title in Los Angeles, California on Aug. 12. Thirteen days later, he will fight Sixto Vera Espanola for the World Boxing Commission superbantamweight title in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
This will leave Andrade 22 days before facing the undefeated Bautista in the undercard of the Marco Antonio Barrera-Rocky Juarez rematch at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sept. 16.
