Dapudong, Garcia gun for WBC Silver Belts

CEBU, Philippines - Fast-rising Filipino ring warrior Edrin “The Sting” Dapudong of the North Cotabato-based Braveheart Stable hopes to step on the ladder of international recognition today when he faces Jesus Jimenez of Mexico in a 12-round war for the vacant WBC Silver flyweight title at the Mesón de los Deportes in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.

“Dapudong trained hard for this fight and given his talent, he has a big chance of winning,” said Cebuano international promoter Sammy Gello-ani, who helps chart the career of Dapudong along with former North Cotabato Governor Manny Piñol.

Parading a decent 17-2 win-loss record spiked with 9KOs, the M’Lang, North Cotabato fighter scored a smashing second-round knockout of Nelson Llanos in his last ring appearance on March 2 at the Don Mariano Track and Field Open Arena in Digos, Davao del Sur.

Dapudong is on a nine-fight winning streak since absorbing his only second defeat by decision at the hands of former world champion Muhammad Rachman of Indonesia on June 28, 2008 in Jakarta.

But Dapudong truly faces an uphil battle against Jimenez, a hometown favorite who has racked up 15 straight victories since his last setback by 10th round TKO to Gabriel Ramirez four years ago.

Overall, Jimenez sports a 28-5 record dotted with 20KOs, making him the odds on favorite against Dapudong.

“Honestly it’s going to be a tough battle, but who knows, Dapudong might be able to pull off one big suprise,” said Gello-ani.

One thing Dapudong should be optimistic about is that Jimenez seems to be knockout-prone, having lost three of his fights by stoppage.

In the other feature of the explosive double-header put up by Sampson Lewkowicz of the Sampson Boxing LLC in partnership with Gello-ani’s SSG Sports Promotions, another Filipino fighter Richard Jun Garcia (21-10, 5KOs) will slug it out with Juan Jose Montes (17-1, 11KOs) for the WBC Silver super flyweight championship. (FREEMAN NEWS)