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Rey
“Boom Boom” Bautista showed composure and maturity in
and out of the ring as he successfully defended his
regional crown by decisioning Antonio “Barrio” Meza of
Mexico yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Bautista, whose promising career took a slip with a
shocking first-round loss a few months ago, got a
measure of confidence back after the victory, saying
that he believes he still remains a worthy title
challenger.
Bautista
outboxed the game and surprisingly tough Meza in a
12-round bout the judges scored,118-110, 117-111,
116-112, all for the Bohol native.
BOOM-BOOM BAUTISTA’S
powershakes up Antonio Meza of Mexico Sunday afternoon
at the Araneta Coliseum. His unanimous-decision victory
restores a little pride back into Bautista’s shaken-up
confidence, following the Boholano’s shocking
first-round loss in his last fight.
--NONOY LACZA
“Natuto
na talaga ako sa huli kong laban. Nag-ingat na din ako,
pero alam ko kulang pa ako. Ang trainer ko na ang
magsasabi kung ano ang mga
mali ko pa para
maitama namin,”
said Bautista who kept the World Boxing Organization
intercontinental super-bantamweight crown.
It was
actually a close fight for the first six rounds as the
southpaw Meza tried to perplex Bautista by changing his
stance occasionally.
Action
boiled over in the fourth round when both combatants
exchanged telling hooks and uppercuts to the delight of
the good-sized crowd that included former Philippine
President Joseph Estrada who was greeted boisterously by
the paying fans at the venue.
Bautista, 21, was assessed a point in the fourth canto
after an accidental head butt caused a small gash on
Meza’s right eyebrow.
“Nahirapan
ako sa istilo niya kasi hindi naman namin nai-scout
’yung laro niya. Sa loob na lang ng ring ko
pinag-aralan,” said Bautista.
After
finding out his foe had a sturdy chin, Bautista tried to
work on the Meza’s body but had to struggle a bit as the
Boholano’s punches went way too low.
The
sixth was another action-packed round as Bautista
connected two uppercuts. Meza retaliated with a
well-timed left hook that thwarted the Filipino’s
attack.
“Du’n
lang ako nasaktan sa Round Six nu’ng tinamaan ako
ng left hook. Pero maganda naman ang kundisyon ko
kaya naka-rekober ako,” said Bautista.
Bautista
was able to make adjustments during the second half of
the bout when he was able to time his body attacks and
left hooks.
Meza
slowed down toward the latter part of the fight, but
still did well to finish the fight. Bautista had another
fine moment in the ninth when he caught Meza with a good
left hook to the jaw.
“It’s
really hard to win outside of your hometown but
Boom-Boom did well to win the fight. He’s good but I’ve
fought better fighters,” said Meza through interpreter
and manager Fernando Dominguez. “He needs to get two to
three more fights before he aims for a world title”
With the
win Bautista improved to 24-1 with 17
KOs, while Meza dropped to 23-4, 16
KOs.
Bautista
is coming off a devastating first-round knockout loss to
WBO super-bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon of
Mexico last August at the Arco Arena in Sacramento,
California. He had a few words to de Leon.
“Kung
nanood ka ngayon, gusto kong malaman mo na hindi ’yung
tunay na Boom-Boom ang nakalaban mo,” he
said. “Proud din ako na world champion ang
tumalo sa akin pero gusto kong makaharap kita ulit.”
Michael
Aldeguer said they still have to sit and map out their
plans for next year.
“We
still have to talk about his next fight, probably
sometime in May of next year,” Bautista’s manager said.
“We’re
happy with Rey’s performance. He showed improvements
with his defense,” Aldeguer added.
Bazooka
over Bambino
In the
main undercard, teen sensation AJ “Bazooka” Banal downed
Jovanny “Bambino” Soto by scoring a sterling ninth-round
technical knockout win.
Banal,
18, bewildered Soto with good counter shots and right
hooks to the face and body. Banal’s good defensive moves
also made his Mexican foe misfire most of his punches.
Soto
furiously tried to come back and had some success in the
fifth and sixth rounds as his unrelenting attacks forced
Banal to backpedal.
Banal,
who has shown tremendous maturity for a young hopeful,
finally caught Soto with a perfectly timed right hook to
the jaw that floored the foreigner in the ninth.
Soto
barely beat the count, but was overwhelmed by a barrage
of shots by Banal, forcing referee Ferdie Estrella to
wave off the fight at 2:15 of the same round.
Banal
upped his record to 16-0-1 with 13
KOs to keep his WBO youth super-flyweight tiara.
“Hindi
ko akalain na babasgsak siya. Matibay din pero may lakas
pa naman ako kasi ang alam ko aabot kami sa 10
rounds,” Banal said.
Meanwhile, RP bantamweight boss Michael Domingo scored a
six-round unanimous decision over Anthony Mathias of
Tanzania, while Cagayan de Oro’s pride Milan Melindo
kept his WBO Asia-Pacific minimumweight belt on points
over Jack Amisa of
Indonesia.
Bai
Elorde, grandson of legendary Filipino fighter Flash
Elorde, remained unscathed by tallying his six straight
win as he outpointed Chris Dollosin in a four-round
battle. |
