Bautista faces tough challenge in ring comeback

The youthful Boholano ring star Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista braces for a tough grind in his ring comeback as he is set to clash with  WBA Fedecentro bantamweight champion Jesus “Chito” Rios of Mexico in a mammoth card being cooked up in the first week of December at the Araneta Coliseum.

Armed with an impressive 24-3-1 win-loss-draw record packed with 18 knockouts, Rios is seen as a big test on Bautista’s recuperative powers coming off a devastating first round knockout defeat to WBO super bantamweight titlist Daniel Ponce de Leon in the main event of the Boxing World Cup last August 12 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.

The 23-year-old Rios snatched the WBA regional belt via a spectacular third round stoppage of Arturo Bracamontes on July 2, 2004 at the Salon Eventos Modelo in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Rios defended his crown twice, the last was via first round KO of Manuel Sarabia on August 12, 2005 in El Foro, Tijuana. He, however, was stopped in the sixth round by Francisco Paredes during their Mexican bantamweight title bout on December 17, 2005 at the Auditorio Luis Estrada Medina in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Rios then took a two-year layoff and returned with a unanimous decision victory over Larry Olvera in a four-rounder duel last Jully 22 at the Longshoremen Memorial Hall in  Wilmington, California.

Bautista, on the other hand, is slowly getting back in shape after absorbing the first setback in his career. Considering that he’s just 20 years old, many boxing pundits believe that Boom Boom is still capable of becoming a world champion someday.

But as the old saying goes, frustration in life could be a stumbling block or a stepping stone to success. It depends on how an individual view it. Given this premise, Bautista’s future in boxing solely depends on him.—EBV