After the rain, the sun shines brightly for Bert Batawang.
The veteran Cebuano boxer from SGG Stable finally got the biggest break in his career as he is set to challenge defending champion Ulises Solis for the IBF light flyweight title underneath a Top Rank promotion on September 16 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“When everybody was crying that Batawang doesn’t fight, I went back to work to the table and did my homework. I found out that Solis was looking for an opponent and Batawang is rated and doesn’t have to go through an elimination. He will go straight to a world title,” said international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz in a report by philboxing.com.
Batawang was originally set to fight Gerardo Verge in an IBF jr flyweight eliminator in last Sunda’s Philippines vs. Mexico Boxing World Cup at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California, but Verde was forced to pull out of the card with detached retinas in both eyes.
With this latest development, Bawatang had a chance to avenge the defeat of his compatriot Rode “Batang Mandaue” Mayol, who was flattened in the eighth round by Solis in his last defense last August 4 at the All-State Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
If victorious, Batawang will also earn a share of Gerry Peñalosa’s record as the oldest Filipino world boxing champion at 35 years old. Peñalosa dethroned Jhonny Gonzalez with a seventh round knockout to win the WBO bantamweight title. — EBV