Julaton risks future to face Mexican

Manila, Philippines -  Former WBO female superbantamweight queen Ana (Hurricane) Julaton is itching to regain her crown but with no opportunity to fight for the title, the Fil-Am from San Francisco puts her future on the line against Magali Rodriguez of Mexico in a 10-round bout at the Polifunctional de la Colonia Francisco Villa Oriente in Kanasin, Yucatan on Aug. 3.

Julaton, 32, hopes a win will bring her closer to a rematch with Argentina’s Yesica Marcos, who took her crown away last March, or the winner of the unification showdown between WBA champion Jackie Nava of Mexico and WIBA titleholder Lisa (Bad News) Brown in Baja California on Aug. 18.

Since yielding the WBO throne to Marcos, Julaton has stayed busy with the activity keeping her in razor-sharp form. Last May, Julaton outpointed Yolanda Segura in her second fight in Kanasin where she is known as the Yucatan Princess. Although an American with Filipino roots, Julaton is widely popular among fight fans in Mexico and Canada. She combines her classy style with good looks to win the crowd.

“Rodriguez is no walk in the park,” said Julaton. “She will bring it all and I’ll be prepared. My ultimate dream is to fight in the Philippines. My promoter Allan Tremblay is in discussions to make it happen late this year or in early 2013. This is about a proud Filipina finally getting a chance to fight in front of my many fans who have been supporting me for so long.”

Rodriguez, 19, has a 7-4-1 record, with 4 KOs, compared to Julaton’s 11-3-1, with 1 KO. “Magali is ranked No. 1 in the featherweight division,” said Julaton’s trainer Angelo Reyes. “This is a very dangerous fight for Ana and part of the reason why we wanted to do it is because Magali is the type of fighter that would beat Jackie. This fight will show why Jackie is not the best Mexico has to offer and if Jackie wants to prove otherwise, she can ask her promoter Fernando Beltran to make a fight with Ana before the year is over. A perfect spot for that would be in Las Vegas in November in the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s next fight.”

Reyes said Julaton is ready to take on anyone for the chance to regain her title. “Allan has big plans for us to do our next title fight in the Philippines,” he continued. “Ana is ready anytime, anywhere and I wish I could say the same for Yesica who hasn’t fought since her fight with Ana and Jackie who can’t even say Ana’s name.”

Reyes said he expects Brown to beat Nava in their duel. “Lisa is very strong and Jackie doesn’t punch very hard,” he said. “I believe Lisa will be the strongest opponent Jackie has fought since her 2006 match with Alejandra Oliveras who knocked her out. I don’t think Lisa will knock out Jackie but I believe Lisa can hurt her. Ana would love to fight both. She still wants a rematch with Lisa and of course, Jackie is considered to be No. 1 so Ana would love to fight her, too.”

Two years ago, Brown bloodied Julaton en route to winning a unanimous decision in Ontario. Brown, 41, is a 5-2 1/2 southpaw from Trinidad and Tobago with a 19-5-3 record, including 6 KOs. Nava, 32, totes a 27-4-3 record, with 11 KOs.

Reyes said Julaton is moving up to featherweight because she’s run out of opponents in the 122-pound division. “Magali is at her strongest at 126 pounds and Ana is a natural superbantamweight,” said Reyes. “Magali has a high KO ratio and uses the jab well. Ana is taking a risk by fighting Mexico’s best featherweight in a division above hers. Jackie is supposed to be Mexico’s No. 1 superbantamweight but she’s afraid to face Ana. It’s not our fault that Jackie doesn’t want to acknowledge our challenge or that Yesica doesn’t want a rematch. I hope Lisa beats Jackie because I know a world championship fight between Ana and Lisa would be a huge event in the Philippines.”

Reyes said Julaton has a lot of surprises for Rodriguez. “We can’t disclose our gameplan but Allan has spoken to Ana about some improvements he wants her to work on so it’ll be fun to see what she has in store for Magali,” said Reyes. “They call Magali the ‘Magician’ but I believe her magic will be nothing but smoke and mirrors once she feels the force of the ‘Hurricane.’ Ana’s spirits are high and she learned a lot from her fight against Yolanda.”

Reyes said if Marcos agrees to stake her crown against Julaton in Pangasinan where the Fil-Am traces her Filipino heritage, it would be historic. “I can’t see too many champions wanting to go to Argentina and do what Ana did,” he said. “Ana gave Yesica the opportunity and if Yesica wants to prove she is the best in the world, she should agree for the rematch to be in Ana’s home province of Pangasinan. I believe more than 40,000 people would come to support an event like this and the Governor, along with the Mayor, would support Ana the same way the Governor of Mendoza and the Mayor of San Martin pooled their resources for Ana’s fight with Yesica to happen in Argentina.”