By REY DANSECO
THE Philippines is ready to hold WBC International championship bouts next month.
After the approval of WBC International championship chairman Mauro Betti of Italy, promoter Gabriel “Bebot” Elorde Jr. has announced yesterday the triple championships that he will stage on July 31 at the air-conditioned Ynares Sports Arena along the busy William J. Shaw Boulevard in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
Filipino and Thai champions Sylvester “Stallone” Lopez and Sooksan Sanmuangloei Chaichana put their titles against separate foes for their second title defenses since winning the vacant titles in April last year in their respective countries.
Lopez, currently WBC No. 5, faces former WBC International light flyweight champion Wandee Singwancha of Thailand.
Lopez captured the vacant belt with 8th round TKO win over previously unbeaten Korean champion Jong-Nam Park at the stated venue.
Lopez floored Park thrice in round 1 and once in round 8 en route to a well deserved TKO win. He defended the title with 5th round stoppage win against Japanese challenger Katsumi Makiyama, who went down in the second round, last November.
The 30-year old Thai challenger will aim to win his second WBC International championship belt. In Sept. 2004, Singwancha beat ex-WBC International minimumweight king, the Filipino brawler Ernesto Rubillar for the vacant light flyweight title with TKO win in Thailand. He is also a former interim WBC minimumweight and light flyweight titlist.
Chaichana, who also uses the name of his stable Kokietgym, is a 24-year old champion.
Chaichana took the vacant belt with a unanimous decision win against Indonesian Bayu Anggoro in Thailand. Four months later, Chaichana retained the title via majority draw with Indonesian national champ Eric Diaz Siregar in his hometown Loei.
Bito, 24, is Lopez’s stablemate under Elorde. He once held the WBO Inter-Continental minimumweight title and rated in the top 10 of the WBO until he was stripped of the title for failure of defending it within the required period of time.
This will be Bito’s second fight at 108 pounds class after winning his latest bout with a hard-earned majority decision win over 10 rounds against Donnie Mabao last March in Trece Martires City, Philippines.
The third title fight in the card is the All-Filipino collision between former Philippine amateur standout Warlito Parrenas and Jonathan Tacuning for the vacant light flyweight title.
Parrenas represented the Philippines in many international tournaments in Asia and Europe. This 7-time national champion in the Philippines took the gold medal in flyweight class in the Southeast Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Vietnam in 2005.
Parrenas is a religious man and a happily married father of two beautiful children.
Tacuning is a strong fighter from Elorde’s younger brother Johnny Elorde’s stable. He served as the chief sparmate of former WBC flyweight champion Koki Kameda in the Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
This card was previously set on July 10 and July 17.
Elorde will match his world record that he set during the time when he staged Manny Pacquiao’s bouts as WBC International super bantamweight boss from 1999 until before the Pacman took another world title in 2001. Elorde is the first and only promoter who stages three WBC International title bouts in a card.
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