Gorres defends flyweight crown vs Rodrigo

Cebu speedster Z Gorres faces a livewire foe in Edgar Rodrigo when he makes the first defense of the Philippine flyweight crown on June 1 as part of the Makati Day celebration.

The scheduled 12-rounder and other marquee matchups are being staged by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado in cooperation with the weekly television show In This Corner on Channel 9.

Binay will donate a championship belt, while Mercado will hand over a trophy to the winner of the Gorres-Rodrigo showdown.

Gorres knows Rodrigo has what it takes to ruin his plans, but remains confident that ring savvy will propel him past the rugged General Santos City slugger.

A protégé of Rudy Salud and Tony Aldeguer, who forged their partnership without putting a single word in print, Gorres was installed as the Philippine 112-lb title on the strength of his sixth-round knockout win over Roy "Macho" Balataria in a duel recognized by the Games and Amusements Board as an interim title fight on March 15 at the Luneta.

Gorres needs to stave off Rodrigo’s challenge to speed up his crack at the World Boxing Council (WBC) International plum.

"This is going to be a tough fight for Gorres," said Salud, who once held the lofty position of WBC secretary general . "Rodrigo has the tools to knock the crown off Gorres’ head."

Rodrigo is coming off a devastating stoppage win over Franklin Makalibo.

Gorres, being groomed to train at the Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach in Hollywood, demolished the sturdy Rick Escaner in late-January before topping Balataria.