Boom Boom Bautista erases smile of clowning Andrade in Round 4

Published on page A35 of the December 4, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

TAMPA, FLORIDA -- Top Filipino prospect Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista kept his unbeaten record with a smashing fourth-round technical knockout victory over Brazilian Giovanni Andrade yesterday in their scheduled 12-rounder at the St. Pete Times Forum here.

Taking the initiative in front of some 13,825 spectators, Bautista forced a battered Andrade to give up at the end of the third round, prompting referee Jorge Alonso to wave off the fight.

Bautista, the former World Boxing Organization Asian Pacific bantamweight champion, swept all three rounds in the scorecards of the three judges before the stoppage.

Bautista, of Candijay town in Bohol province, pressed the action right at the get-go, chasing Andrade around for most of the round as the Brazilian showboated while riding on his bicycle.

Bautista continued his onslaught in the second round, although he got tagged by a right which landed on his right forehead, forcing the Filipino to backpedal. Bautista recovered to still win the round.

Andrade started to tire in the third, and was reduced to clowning around as the very well-conditioned Bautista continued chasing him with hard body attacks.

“He hit me with too many body shots, and every time they landed, I felt like I was being stabbed,” said Andrade in a post-fight interview at ringside.

The bout was an undercard to the Winky Wright-Ike Quartey battle, and was aired on national television with millions watching on Solar Sports, RPN9 and closed-circuit venues. Wright won the mainer by decision.

With the win, Bautista improved his unblemished slate to 21 wins and 16 KOs, and solidified his position as next in line to challenge WBO super bantamweight king Daniel Ponce De Leon of Mexico.

Top Filipino promoter Sammy Gello-ani is currently working on a boxing “World Cup” to take place in the Philippines in February, pitting Mexican world champions against Filipino challengers.

“I was also hurt in the second round when Andrade caught me with a good shot,” Bautista said after the fight. “But I recovered amazingly fast, thanks to my conditioning.”

The young fighter then went on to thank his manager, Antonio L. Aldeguer, and promoter Oscar De la Hoya for their support, as well as his parents and Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim.

After a short meeting among Golden Boy Promotions fighters and staff presided by De La Hoya, the post-fight press conference was held on the same ring where the fights were held.

Bautista is set to fly back to Los Angeles today, then proceed to Manila tomorrow. He is expected to be home on Dec. 6.

ERIK Morales thought that Filipinos considered him a villain

That was until the world-famous Filipino hospitality embraced and held him dear.

The iconic Mexican pug, in the country to vacation on one of its most exclusive island resorts and to film a television commercial for San Miguel, fell in love with the Philippines the moment he set foot on its soil.

He admits to being completely bowled over by the people’s warmth and the welcome he received.

“I was surprised that the Filipinos are so warm,” said Morales, as quoted by a confidante of his nemesis Manny Pacquiao. “Initially, I was scared (to come over) because of all the negative publicity (about the Philippines).

‘Filipinos love Manny’

“I thought that I was such a villain here because the Filipino people love Manny (Pacquiao) so much.”

Morales, according to the source who requested not to be named, recalled how he was mobbed on Monday by diners and shoppers at the Rockwell Power Plant Mall who recognized him even though he was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses to conceal his identity.

“I thought that the people here hated me,” Morales said.

The 30-year-old, a native of Tijuana who flew in Saturday evening, described the Philippines as “very much like Mexico, the people here also having a solid religious background.”

With wife and pal

Morales planed in with his 23-year-old wife Andrea, a teacher with whom he has an 11-month-old son, and Jorge Quezada, a childhood friend who carries the Mexican flag to the ring in all his fights.

The former two-time world champion’s party had dinner Monday night at the residence of businessman-sportsman Hermie Esguerra, where they were joined by Aida and Mario Cagayat, a Filipino couple that owns a house next to the Moraleses in California.

“Morales could not believe what he saw on TV about the many devotees to the Black Nazarene,” added the source, who was included in the group that, together with Esguerra’s family, feasted on lechon (roast pig) and other Filipino delicacies.

Suspected ulcer

Pacquiao was supposed to be in that gathering but had to check himself in at the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital in Mandaluyong City due to suspected ulcer. Doctors were expected to order the release of the Filipino boxing superstar yesterday afternoon.

Morales and Pacquiao, who will film the San Miguel Beer commercial together with American trainer Freddie Roach, actually met Saturday night at the Diamond Hotel on Roxas Boulevard. They were said to have downed several beers each before retiring in the small hours of Sunday.

Morales, Andrea and Jorge will fly to the Amanpulo resort off Palawan on Saturday for a much-needed vacation, away from the prying eyes of the public and the media.

“It’s expensive there,” the source added. “From what I heard, a trip there would easily cost around P700,000 per head.”

The ‘villain’ Filipinos now love

ERIK Morales thought that Filipinos considered him a villain.That was until the world-famous Filipino hospitality embraced and held him dear.

The iconic Mexican pug, in the country to vacation on one of its most exclusive island resorts and to film a television commercial for San Miguel, fell in love with the Philippines the moment he set foot on its soil.

He admits to being completely bowled over by the people’s warmth and the welcome he received.

“I was surprised that the Filipinos are so warm,” said Morales, as quoted by a confidante of his nemesis Manny Pacquiao. “Initially, I was scared (to come over) because of all the negative publicity (about the Philippines).

‘Filipinos love Manny’ “I thought that I was such a villain here because the Filipino people love Manny (Pacquiao) so much.”

Morales, according to the source who requested not to be named, recalled how he was mobbed on Monday by diners and shoppers at the Rockwell Power Plant Mall who recognized him even though he was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses to conceal his identity.

“I thought that the people here hated me,” Morales said. The 30-year-old, a native of Tijuana who flew in Saturday evening, described the Philippines as “very much like Mexico, the people here also having a solid religious background.”

With wife and pal Morales planed in with his 23-year-old wife Andrea, a teacher with whom he has an 11-month-old son, and Jorge Quezada, a childhood friend who carries the Mexican flag to the ring in all his fights.

The former two-time world champion’s party had dinner Monday night at the residence of businessman-sportsman Hermie Esguerra, where they were joined by Aida and Mario Cagayat, a Filipino couple that owns a house next to the Moraleses in California.

“Morales could not believe what he saw on TV about the many devotees to the Black Nazarene,” added the source, who was included in the group that, together with Esguerra’s family, feasted on lechon (roast pig) and other Filipino delicacies.

Suspected ulcer
Pacquiao was supposed to be in that gathering but had to check himself in at the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital in Mandaluyong City due to suspected ulcer. Doctors were expected to order the release of the Filipino boxing superstar yesterday afternoon.

Morales and Pacquiao, who will film the San Miguel Beer commercial together with American trainer Freddie Roach, actually met Saturday night at the Diamond Hotel on Roxas Boulevard. They were said to have downed several beers each before retiring in the small hours of Sunday.
Morales, Andrea and Jorge will fly to the Amanpulo resort off Palawan on Saturday for a much-needed vacation, away from the prying eyes of the public and the media.

“It’s expensive there,” the source added. “From what I heard, a trip there would easily cost around P700,000 per head.”

Erik Morales wife attending Jinkee’s birthday bash

MEXICAN ring icon Erik Morales, here on vacation with wife Andrea on the invitation of a Filipino friend, will fly to Gen. Santos City on Friday for the birthday celebration of Manny Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee.

The Moraleses and childhood friend Jorge Quezada will be accompanied by Pacquiao himself when they leave for GenSan on a private jet owned by a sponsor, a source said.
“Pacquiao and Morales seem to be getting closer now, and there is no trace of animosity between them unlike when they duked it out in the ring,” the source added.

Also slated to fly to GenSan on Friday is renowned American trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s adviser Rex “Wakee” Salud and lawyer Jeng Gacal.

Manny Pacquiao vs Marco Antonio Barrera rematch will be after Barrera-Marquez fight

MANNY PACQUIAO has not completely shut the door on a possible rematch with World Boxing Council super featherweight champion.
The Filipino ring icon assured WBC president Jose Sulaiman, who called him up last Tuesday, that he is still interested in fighting Barrera, whom he stopped in the 11th round of their non-title bout in San Antonio, Texas in 2003.

A source privy to the telephone conversation that also involved Filipino boxing promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud said Pacquiao wanted promoter Bob Arum to raise to $3 million the money he offered to Barrera recently.

Arum originally offered Barrera a $2.5 million purse to stake his title against Pacquiao during a Manila press conference where the Filipino officially confirmed the head of Top Rank as his new promoter.

Following the three-way teleconference, Pacquiao and Sulaiman talked privately, the source added. The Filipino superstar refused to divulge what was discussed except to say that the Barrera fight was main topic.

Sulaiman’s call came on the heels of Barrera’s announced March 17 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez and Pacquiao’s planned April 28 bout in Macau, China.

Apparently, the WBC is in a bind. It has to decide between stripping Barrera of the WBC title for failing to defend against mandatory challenger Pacquiao and sanctioning the Barrera-Marquez fight as a WBC title defense.

The WBC decided during its last convention that the winner of the Pacquiao-Erik Morales “Grand Finale” will become the mandatory challenger to Barrera.

Observers say the WBC is also faced with the problem of determining whether Barrera refused to fight Pacquiao in a mandatory defense or the Filipino did not want to fight the Mexican.

Earlier, the WBC had scrapped a purse bid scheduled today for the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch, saying that it has yet to do “more research” on the matter.

WBC approves Marco Antonio Barrera - Juan Marquez fight!

Due to the court battle raging between promoters over superfeather star Manny Pacquiao, the WBC has approved a voluntary defense of 130lb champion Marco Antonio Barrera against Juan Manuel Marquez on March 17 in Las Vegas. In addition, the WBC has approved Pacquiao to defend his WBC Intl belt against Injin Chi or another opponent in Macau, China. If Barrera gets by Marquez, he must face Pacquiao next. A free negotiation period will begin one day after their respective fights. If no agreement is reached, a purse bid will be held 21 days later. At that time, regardless of whether the fighters are still emeshed in legal entanglements or not, if Pacquiao does not accept the fight, he will lose his mandatory challenger status. If Barrera doesn't accept, his WBC title will be declared vacant.