Undefeated WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight champion Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista will tackle Nicaraguan Roberto "El Chucky" Bonilla in a 10-round war underneath Marco Antonio Barrera's WBC super featherweight title defense against fellow Mexican Rocky Juarez on May 20 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
International promoter Sammy Gello-ani said WBO AsPac chairman Leon Panoncillo informed them yesterday that Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz has finally confirmed Bautista's opponent in the blockbuster Barrera-Juarez card.
"Bautista will face another dangerous test when he trades mitts with Roberto "El Chucky" Bonilla of Nicaragua in the undercard of the blockbuster fight between Marco Antonio Barrera and Rocky Juarez," said Gello-ani.
A grizzled veteran of 30 fights, the 31-year-old Bonilla has fought not a few notable world-rated fighters with the likes of Ricardo Vargas and Julio Cesar Avila, who he beat by unanimous decision over 12 heats to win the WBO Latino super flyweight title on February 23, 2002 at the Nicaraguan capital Managua.
It is noteworthy to mention that Bonilla, who carries a 23-7 win-loss record packed with 14KOs, has won all his four fights last year with one no-contest against Luis Sandoval, whom he defeated by sixth round TKO in their December 3, 2005 rematch.
Bonilla though is coming off a heartbreaking seventh round TKO defeat to ad-interim WBA super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero in their championship bout last February 2 at the Centro de Convenciones Figali in Panama City.
The Bautista-Bonilla showdown is one of the three bouts that will be shown on HBO pay-per-view telecast.
This will be the fourth time that the 19-year-old Bautista will see action in the United States, his second at the homecourt of NBA's LA Lakers.
In his first US sojourn, the ALA ring prodigy from Candijay, Bohol stopped Aree Phosuwangym in the fifth round on March 11 last year in Honolulu, Hawaii. Six months later, he knocked out Mexican Felix Flores Murillo in round 3 at the Staples Center.
Bautista, unscathed in 19 fights with 14 wins via stoppage, made an impact in his previous US bout when he bravely survived a second-round scare to outlast the iron-chinned Mexican Gerardo Espinoza by decision over eight grueling rounds on Christmas eve at the Sycuan Resort and Casino in El Cajon, California.