MikeLigalig.com

By Emmanuel B. Villaruel
Phil Star

The Philippines vs. Mexico Boxing World Cup this Sunday (RP time) at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California promises to be one big war with both sides assuring fight fans across the globe of a great and explosive day of fistic entertainment.

WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon, who will stake his belt against the undefeated Boholano challenger Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista in the main event of the multi-million show, admitted the Filipinos are tough fighters but boldly declared they’re ready to go to war and defend their throne.

 â€œI am very well-prepared and proud to defend the title. It’s an honor to fight for the Mexican team. We know the Philippines are very tough fighters. And we are ready,” said De Leon in a report by philboxing.com.

For Bautista, this is the moment he had been waiting for, vowing to give his all out best to hurdle the most difficult obstacle in his budding career.

“I would like to give thanks to Golden Boy Promotions for giving me a chance to fight in this championship fight. This is my dream, this is what I want. I will try my best because I know this fight is very tough. This is a war. The Filipino is one of the best in the world,” said Bautista.

For his part, celebrated American trainer Freddie Roach said he is honored to call the shots for the Philippine team and that he is confident that the Filipinos will prevail over the Mexicans.

“It’s an honor to coach the Philippine team, these guys work very hard, we know we’re in tough fights. I couldn’t do this alone, my help are all here, the Philippine coaches over there, take a bow. We’re gonna take the World Cup to the Philippines,” said Roach.

In another must-see encounter, former WBC super flyweight champion Gerry Peñalosa will challenge WBO bantamweight titlist Jhonny Gonzalez.

“Thank you Golden Boy Promotions, it is a great honor for me to be in the card by Saturday, and thank you to Jhonny Gonzalez for defending his title against me. We came here ready to fight and it’s going to be a good fight. It’s our pleasure to be here,” said Peñalosa.

When it was his turn to grab the microphone, Gonzalez is very optimistic that Team Mexico will come out victorious.

“First of all I would like to say that I am very happy to take part in this second part of the tournament. The first time we fought against Thailand, and now its the Philippines. Its gonna be a war this Saturday, and I’m sure the Mexican team will be the winner. Thank you to Oscar De la Hoya and Golden Boy for making us part of the tournament. Viva Mexico!,” blurted out Gonzalez.

Also worth watching for is the match between Cebuano Z “The Dream” Gorres and former WBC light flyweight title-holder Eric Ortiz in an IBF super flyweight eliminator scheduled for 12 rounds.

“I know it is going be a tough fight for us but we are all ready. We will give hard fight to the Mexican team and you better watch this fight,” said Gorres.

“I feel very happy, it’s an honor to fight for Mexico, this is such a great tournament Philippines versus Mexico. I know we all want to die for a victory inside the ring. We are going to perform a great, great fight Saturday, and I’m just happy to be here,” said Ortiz.

The rest of the equally-exciting bouts feature Diosdado Gabi against Jose Angel Beranza, RP bantamweight champion Michael Domingo against Miguel Roman, and AJ “Bazooka” Banal against last minute replacement Jorge Cardenas (see separate story).

And as Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar de la Hoya best put it, “May the best country win, may the best boxers win.”

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