Bautista hopes to end year 2005 with a bang

Still in cloud nine for his successful debut in the US mainland a spectacular defense of his title, ALA ring phenomenon Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista hopes to cap what has been a fruitful campaign for him this year with a big exclamation point when he takes on Mexican Gerardo "Locomotora" Espinoza today at the Sycuan Resort and Casino in El Cajon, California.

The two fighters weighed above the required 118-pound limit under the bantamweight division but it doesn't matter as Bautista and Espinoza will clash in a non-title bout scheduled for 10 rounds. Bautista scaled in at 118.75 pounds, while Espinoza weighed 120 pounds.

The 19-year-old Bautista is up for the toughest fight of his career as he battles the dangerous Espinoza, who has already fought top calibers fighters in the likes of undefeated highly Jose Miguel Aguiniga, former world champions Mauricio Martinez and Cruz Carvajal, and reigning IBF bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez.

But the WBO top bantamweight contender Bautista is unfazed by the impressive credential his Mexican foe brings heading into the battlefield.

"I saw footage of his last fight with Jose Miguel Aguiniga. Espinoza is a very strong fighter. I´m not worried about the experience edge he has on me because I´m well prepared for this fight and I feel I´m ready for this step up in competition," Bautista told Lee Bates of fightnews.com.

On paper, the youthful Bautista is the slight favorite with an undefeated record of 18-0 spiked with 14 wins via stoppage. Espinoza, however, is equally deadly with 26 knockouts out of his 28 victories in 37 fights.

Asked by Bates if Espinoza's proven knockout power is in the back of his mind, Bautista replied "Well, to my knowledge there`s no chin strengthening training. (smiling) I`ve been hit with some hard shots during my professional career and took them well. I´ve put in a lot of hard training for this fight and I`m look forward to putting on a good performance come December 23rd at Sycuan."

This will be the second time Bautista fights in the US mainland after knocking out Colombian Felix Flores Murillo in third round last September 19 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

In his previous match, the Candijay, Bohol-native Bautista flattened Tanzanian Obote "Thunder" Ameme in the second round to keep for the second time his WBO Asia-Pacific bantamweight belt in the historic "Binakbakay sa Tagbilaran' card witnessed by a record crowd of 25,000 at the Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex in Tagbilaran City.

On the other hand, the 25-year-old Espinoza, who once held the WBA Fedecentro and WBO NABO super bantamweight crowns, lost in his last four fights including twice to Aguiniga and once to ex-world title-holder Martinez.

The last time Espinoza won was on April 17 last year when he stopped Juan Pablo Aboyte in the third round. Prior to that, Espinoza failed in his attempt to wrest the WBO bantamweight title, losing by eighth round TKO to Cruz Carbajal in October 2003.