Is Suico ready for title?

CEBU CITY — Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) superfeatherweight champion Randy Suico hardly raised a sweat in disposing of Korean challenger Seung Won Baek in the Waterfront Hotel Ballroom here Friday night.

Suico’s Japanese manager Joe Koizumi would’ve liked a tougher and longer workout to prepare the Filipino for his World Boxing Council (WBC) title eliminator against No. 1 contender Mzonke Fana in South Africa in April or May. If Suico beats Fana, his next fight will be against the winner of the WBC 130-pound title bout between defending champion Jesus Chavez and Erik Morales on Feb. 28 in Las Vegas.

Koizumi ruled out another tuneup for Suico with the South Africa appointment only three months away. He said the fighter must improve on his defense, footwork, left jab and combination punching in the gym to raise his chances of following in the footsteps of Flash Elorde, Rene Barrientos, Ben Villaflor and Rolando Navarrete as a superfeatherweight or junior lightweight champion.

Koizumi said he will bring Suico to South Africa 10 days before the fight to acclimatize to the high altitude and thin air. If South African promoter Branco Milenkovic offers to fly in Suico later, Koizumi said he will pay the difference to make sure the Filipino encounters no difficulty in adjusting to the unfamiliar conditions.

Koizumi said the Chavez-Morales fight is a close call and wouldn’t predict the outcome. Morales, the former WBC superbantamweight and featherweight titlist known as "El Terrible," would be an easier opponent than Chavez for Suico, he noted.

"Randy is taller than Morales and if you compare their styles, I think Randy has a better chance of beating Morales," mused Koizumi, a Japanese boxing expert who guided Luisito Espinosa to the WBC featherweight title and Joma Gamboa to the World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight crown. "Chavez is a much more difficult opponent because of his style. Morales will have a hard time beating him."

Suico used his left hand almost exclusively to flatten Baek, raising doubts as to the condition of his right. In his previous outing, Suico hurt his right hand and couldn’t stop Kazunori Fujita, settling for a win on points in Tokyo. Fujita, however, was floored once in losing a lopsided decision.

Fight manager Leonel Lazarito, who flew in from Bukidnon to watch the fight at ringside, said it’s possible Suico’s right hand hasn’t completely healed. He observed that Suico used his right only to hit Baek’s body and avoided using it to strike the head. Suico landed five straight blows–all lefts–to knock out Baek in the second round.

Fans said Suico, who’s not a southpaw, proved he can take out an opponent with his left. A healthy right would make Suico doubly dangerous in the ring.

Is he ripe for a title shot?

Koizumi said the timing is perfect. The target is the WBC crown, not the WBA title now held by Yodsanan Nanthachai of Thailand. Suico is the WBA’s No. 2 contender. The WBA’s so-called "super" champion is Brazilian Acelino Freitas who is also recognized by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) as the superfeatherweight ruler. Yodsanan is the WBA’s "regular" champion, making for a confusing situation.

Koizumi said Suico is not pursuing the WBA title. Curiously, Suico is not rated in the top 10 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) or WBO. He is No. 2 in both the WBC and WBA ladders.

* * *

Cebu-based businessman Tony Aldeguer was at ringside to watch his protégé Suico. Aldeguer, who manages a stable known as the "New Generation ALA (Antonio L. Aldeguer) Boys," said he’s got four outstanding prospects who could be future world beaters.

The prospects are all former national amateur champions. They’re featherweight Cesar Amonsot, 18, mininumweight Rocky Fuentes, 17 (his record is 5-0, with four KOs), superflyweight Rey Bautista, 17, and minimumweight Rolen del Castillo, 16.

Aldeguer has a sharp eye for discovering diamonds in the rough. Among the fighters whom he’s guided to enjoy successful fistic careers were Gerry Peñalosa, Noel Tuñacao, Joma Gamboa, Edito Villamor and Andy Tabanas.

Commenting on Oriental minimumweight champion Rodel Mayol’s search for a patron, Aldeguer said he’ll always be willing to help his former ward. But Aldeguer said he will not take him back in his stable. It’s a policy in Aldeguer’s stable that once a fighter leaves, there can be no return.

Mayol started his pro career in Aldeguer’s stable then moved out two years ago after Terry Carter offered a P200,000 signing bonus to transfer to the American’s Stonewall camp in Lilo-an.

* * *

The Waterfront promotion was a box office smash. A sellout crowd of over 3,000 packed the Ballroom, rewarding promoter Rex (Wakee) Salud for his tireless efforts to make Cebu the country’s boxing mecca.

Salud is one of the few Filipino promoters whose love for the sport goes beyond what they can earn from it.

Paul Pereyra and Allan Desierto joined hands in producing the TV coverage of Salud’s blockbuster card. The show will be aired on IBC-TV at 3 p.m. on Feb. 7. Desierto, who manages several Fitness First gyms in Sydney, flew in from down under the night before the fights. Broadcaster Sandy Geronimo was the floor director and Bebs Alvarez, the director.

A highlight of the card was a comedy act featuring midgets in a mock boxing bout. A midget who looked like a scaled-down version of Mr. T battled two other midgets–known as the Twin Twisters–and even scuffled with the midget referee in a rousing show that brought the house down. Korean referee David Chung and judge Nam Chul Park were in stitches throughout the skit and said the act should be exported to other countries. In the finale of the comic relief, the midgets gyrated with a sexy dancer to the tune of "Sex Bomb."