Bautista makes ring return vs. Brazilian champ today

A healthy and sturdy Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista aims to set himself off to a glorious comeback trail as he takes on the dangerous Brazilian champion Giovanni Andrade this morning underneath the explosive showdown of middleweights featuring Winky Wright versus Ike Quartey at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.

Showing he is fit and trim for his first bout in seven months, the youthful Boholano ring sensation from Cebu's famed ALA Boxing Club came in at exactly 122 pounds during yesterday's official weigh-in at the Ballroom 1 of Hyatt Regency Tampa. Andrade scaled in at 121.5 pounds.

Supervised by the Florida State Boxing Commission, the weigh-in of the "Heat is On" card was graced by promoters Oscar de la Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and 'Sugar' Shane Mosley.

This will be the first time that the WBO No.1 super bantamweight contender Bautista will see action in the ring since scoring a spectacular third round knockout of Nicaraguan Roberto "El Chucky" Bonilla last May 20 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Bautista was originally set to face Andrade in the undercard of the Marco Antonio Barrera-Rocky Juarez rematch last September 16 in Las Vegas, but the Candijay, Bohol fighter withdrew from the match after he sustained a hairline fracture in his right clavicle during training.

Prior to that, Bautista was scheduled to clash with Mexican Alejandaro Felix Montiel underneath the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar Larios duel last July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum, but was forced pull out of the bout due to a bacterial flu.

With those unfortunate incidents already behind him, Bautista is raring to move on and hopefully come up with an emphatic return as he tries not only to assert his lofty status as the next Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, but also to silence some critics who presumed he is on the brink of retirement after being plagued by two straight injuries.

On paper, Bautista is the superior fighter with an immaculate 20-0 record spiked with 15KOs, but he doesn't have the same level of experience the Brazilian bomber has.

A veteran of 61 fights, Andrade sports a menacing record of 52-9 with 43 victories via stoppage since turning pro in 1993.

In his previous bout four months ago, Andrade forced Sixto Vera Espinola to retire in the fourth round to wrest the World Boxing Commission jr featherweight title in Sao Paolo.

But at 36 years old, the wear and tear of boxing might have already caught up with Andrade. That will be determined though as he slugs it out with the 20-year-old Bautista - an agrressive and and big-hearted warrior.