WOW Pinoy

3 Filipino to figure in world-title fights

3 more Filipino boxers will figure in world-title matches for the remainder of the year led by 2007 RP Athlete of the Year Nonito Donaire. Donaire (19-1 win-loss record) puts his International Boxing Federation flyweight belt on the line when he faces Moruti Mthalane of South Africa on November 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It will be Donaire’s first fight since December 2007 when he defeated Luis Maldonado via eighth-round technical knockout in Connecticut. It was Donaire’s first title defense. Mthalane, who comes in with a 22-1 win-loss slate, is in his first world-championship affair. He defeated Hussein Hussein of Australia last July in a title eliminator which awarded Mthalane the world-title shot. Donaire, who was voted by the Philippine Sportswriters Association as co-Athlete of the Year for 2007, is currently training at the Top Rank Gym with his father Nonito Sr. “We’ve already seen some of the tapes of Mthalane," Donaire’s father told Philboxing.com Tuesday. “[Mthalane] is a very tough kid. He always comes to fight. We’re not taking him lightly."

Gerry Peñalosa vs. Abner Mares (World Boxing Organization bantamweight championship) World bantamweight champion Gerry Peñalosa takes on a challenger 14 years his junior when he stakes his World Boxing Organization title against Abner Mares of Mexico reportedly as one of the undercards in the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar de la Hoya battle royale in December. Peñalosa, 36, has agreed in principle to face Mares, 22, for Peñalosa’s second defense of his WBO throne. Peñalosa (53-6-2 win-loss-draw) was supposed to be inside the ring on September 20 in a title defense set in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, but the handlers of Nestor Rocha, Peñalosa’s scheduled opponent, backed out reportedly because of the peace and order situation in Mindanao. In his last fight, Mares, who is undefeated in 17 matches, won over fellow Mexican Jonathan Arias via 10-round unanimous decision last June in California. Peñalosa’s last bout was in April when he TKO’d Ratanachai sor Vorapin of Thailand at the Araneta Coliseum. It was Peñalosa’s first defense of his WBO belt.

The other Filipino world champions besides Donaire and Peñalosa are Pacquiao (World Boxing Council lightweight champion) and Donnie Nietes (WBO minimumweight champion). Sonny Boy Jaro vs. Edgar Sosa (World Boxing Council light-flyweight championship) Sonny Boy Jaro debuts on the world-title stage on September 14 when he takes on World Boxing Council light-flyweight champion Edgar Sosa in Sosa’s hometown in Mexico City. It’ll be a tough assignment for Jaro (28-6-5), who will face an opponent who hasn’t lost in five years. The Jaro bout is Sosa’s sixth defense of the world championship he won in March 2007 against US-raised Filipino Brian Viloria. In his last bout, Sosa defeated Takashi Kunishige last June via TKO in the eighth round. The match was also held in Sosa’s home country. Jaro won a split decision over Along Denoy of Bohol last June in Puerto Princesa. That fight was for the vacant Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation light-flyweight throne. Viloria is also scheduled for a mandatory IBF world-title appearance but Gary Gittlesohn, Viloria’s American manager, reportedly said the date and venue has not been finalized. – GMANews.TV

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