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ONE of
the many unanswered questions regarding Manny Pacquiao’s
next fight will be settled in the weekend.
Potential Pacquiao foes Joan Guzman of the Dominican
Republic and Humberto Soto of Mexico square off Saturday
in a bout that will help determine the next foe of the
Filipino boxing sensation.
The two
fighters are hoping to score a resounding win to take
the limelight from Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, the
current World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight
champion, touted as the top challenger of Pacquiao.
The
Guzman-Soto 12-round bout will be held at the Borgata
Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It will
be shown locally via Solar Sports.
Guzman,
31, is undefeated in 27 fights and has scored 17
knockouts during his 10-year career. He won the vacant
World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-bantamweight crown
in 2002 and defended it twice.
Guzman
will be defending his WBO super-featherweight crown
against Soto, a title he won on September 16, 2006 by
scoring a 12-round split decision over Brazilian Jorge
Barrios in a bout held at the
MGM Grand Garden
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I am
anxious and ready to get in the ring. I am very happy
and excited and it’s my time now. Soto is in the same
position as me,” said Guzman in yesterday’s press
conference at the Old Homestead Restaurant in New York.
“He’s coming up like I am looking for the big fights. We
hold the key for each other.”
Soto,
27, (43-5-2, 27 KOs) instantly became a potential
Pacquiao rival after the Mexican dealt Pacquiao’s
younger brother Bobby a humiliating seventh-round
knockout last June at the Madison Square Garden (MSG) in
New York. The older Pacquiao witnessed that fight at
ringside.
“Guzman
is a great fighter. He has lot of skills and as far as I
am concerned, he’s maybe the best 130-lb fighter out
there,” said Soto in the same presser “I love challenge
and that’s why I took this fight. I want to be world
champion.”
Soto
also came out as the top Mexican fighter capable of
beating Pacquiao based on an online poll conducted by a
Mexican web site. Soto garnered 51 percent of a poll
that saw 15,000 respondents. Marquez was a far third
with a measly 2.5 percent.
Marquez,
34, is the constant favorite as Pacquiao’s next opponent
as both fighters need to settle their 12-round draw held
last May 2004, also at the MGM Grand Garden.
Top Rank
Inc. is reportedly pushing for a bout with WBC
lightweight champion David Diaz. The Mexican-American
Diaz is fighting under Arum’s outfit. Soto, just like
Diaz, is a Top Rank fighter, while Guzman campaigns
under the Golden Boy Promotions banner.
A March
15, 2008 date has been reserved with HBO for Pacquiao’s
next outing.
Match
must be in R.P.
YOUNG
Cebu businessman Michael Aldeguer is determined to stage
the world-title eliminator of his ward, one-time world
title challenger Z Gorres in the Philippines.
Aldeguer
said the only thing definite about the title eliminator
is the International Boxing Federation (IBF) ordering
both sides to go into a purse bid on November 20.
According to Aldeguer, the IBF has tasked both
sixth-ranked super-flyweight Gorres and No. 5 Vic
Darchinyan of
Australia
to battle it out and determine the mandatory challenger
of world champion Dimitri Kirilov of Russia.
“The
purse bid will take place at the IBF’s main office in
New Jersey. The fight is likely to happen either in
Australia
or here in the Philippines, but we will do our best to
stage it here,” said Aldeguer.
Aldeguer
disclosed that the fight, based on the IBF’s directive,
must happen not later than February 13.
If his
side wins the purse bid, Aldeguer plans to stage the
bout in Cebu, considered as the boxing hotbed of the
country which is slowly establishing a niche as an
idyllic place for world-class boxing events.
“If we
can get the support of the city government and private
sponsors as well as the TV networks, we can again stage
another great event that we have tentatively set on
February 9,” said Aldeguer. “It’s a critical scenario
for us come November 20 because we heard a lot of
businessmen are willing to help the Darchinyan camp and
bring the fight in Australia.”
Aldeguer
added that they’ve been hearing reports of the
uneasiness of the Darchinyan camp about coming over and
fighting the classy southpaw Gorres in the Philippines.
Should
Darchinyan decline the Philippine outing, the next
scenario which Aldeguer divulged is for Gorres to face
the next available contender, Jose Navarro of Mexico.
“The
fight must happen. If we win the purse bid, Darchinyan
has no other choice but to fight Gorres here,” added
Aldeguer who is in Manila attending the annual World
Boxing Council (WBC) annual meet.
The
26-year-old Navarro (26-3, 12
KOs), an Olympian, fought Kirilov for the vacant crown on
October 13 in
Moscow,
Russia.
Navarro bowed to Kirilov via close unanimous decision.
As for
the purse, Darchinyan is set to receive 60 percent of
the bid, while Gorres will get 40 percent regardless of
the fight venue.
“That is
because Darchinyan is one rank higher than Gorres aside
from being a former world champion,” said Aldeguer.
****
Vina to sing national anthem in boom
boom-meza ‘payback’
Vina
Morales, one of the Philippines’ most talented
performers, will sing the Philippine national anthem on
December 2 for the “Payback” boxing card featuring Rey
“Boom Boom” Bautista against Antonio Meza at the
historic Araneta Coliseum.
“We are
pulling all stops to give the fans the kind of
entertainment that will rival or better any
Las Vegas event,” said Noli Eala of Third Force Promotions, promoter
of the event, in association with ALA Boxing Gym.
Morales,
who won for the Philippines the top title in the 2007
IKON Asean singing contest on August 12, hails from Cebu
just like the Filipino boxers seeing action in the card.
Sharon
Garcia Magdayao in real life, Morales hails from Bogo, a
northern town in Cebu, and rose to national prominence
after winning the Cebu Pop Music Festival with her
rendition of “Paglaum” (Hope).
Meanwhile, tickets for the explosive “Payback” card are
now available at the Araneta Coliseum, SM branches and
all Ticketnet outlets. |
