CEBU, Philippines - Revenge is certainly on top of Jason Pagara's mind when he faces anew his Mexican tormentor Rosbel "Lobo" Montoya in a 12-round rumble for the WBO International light welterweight title topbilling the highly-anticipated "Pinoy Pride XV:Philippines vs. Mexico-The Rematch" tonight at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
During their previous encounter on September 10 last year also at the plush hotel, Pagara was clearly outclassed in a unanimous decision loss to Montoya.
"I was having some personal problems at that time. It wasn't an excuse though because Montoya is also a very good boxer. I hold him with high respect," said Pagara, who sports a 28-2 win-loss record packed with 17KOs. Montoya holds a 36-4-1 slate dotted with 30KOs.
"I am very happy to be given this opportunity to have a rematch with Montoya. I trained hard and I've never been this focused in my career. I have only one thing in mind and that is to score a sweet revenge," added the pride of Cagayan de Oro City.
The 21-year-old Pagara knows the importance of this bout and that he is ready to take on the challenge.
"This is a make or break fight for me. I have to make an impression and show to everyone that I still have what it takes to be a world champion someday," Pagara said.
In the co-feature of the action-packed ring extravaganza, the unbeaten ALA rising star Genesis "Azukal" Servania (18-0, 7KOs) will go up against Jorge "El Feroz" Pazos ( 21-3, 14KOs) for the the WBO Asia-Pacific super bantamweight crown.
"I know Pazos is a tough fighter but I'm prepared and ready for whatever he brings into the fight," said Servania, who is coming off a spate of wins against battle-tested Mexicans, the most recent was Genaro "Poblanito" Garcia.
The slambang show presented by ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports also marks the ring comeback of former two-division OPBF champion Jimrex "The Executioner" Jaca (34-6-3, 19KOs) against the young, but dangerous Angel "Arcangel" Martinez (18-2-1, 13KOs).
"There's no turning back for me. I'm going to prove to ALA Promotions that I'm worthy of the second chance they've given me," said Jaca, who once fought - albeit for a losing cause - against Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez.
The rest of the card features Mark Vincent Bernaldez vs. Joash Aprericio; Juren Labordo vs. Powell Balaba; Jojo Intor vs. Peter Aldrin; and JP Artieda vs. Hector Rojoca. – THE FREEMAN