Suico would rather face Barrera

World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 3 superfeatherweight Randy Suico of Mandaue City said yesterday he’s ready to take on champion Marco Antonio Barrera anytime, anywhere and promised to dethrone the Mexican by knockout.

Suico, 25, made the bold prediction even as he is coming off a majority 10-round decision loss to former International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight titlist Javier Jauregui in Los Angeles last Friday.

Suico said Barrera, who holds the WBC and IBF 130-pound championships, is perfect for his style because the Baby-Faced Assassin likes to mix it up and not dance like Jauregui whom he called a coward.

Jauregui, 32, frustrated Suico in their bout by fighting from long range and avoiding close exchanges. Veteran judge Chuck Hassett scored it a 95-all draw but the other judges John Reiss and Ray Corona both saw it 99-91, giving Suico only a single round.

Solar Sports will air the Suico-Jauregui fight on RPN-9 at 9 tonight.

Suico said he was surprised when the verdict was announced.

"Walang ginawa si Jauregui kundi tumakbo, yung takbong takot," Suico told The STAR in a phone interview from his home in Cebu. "Ayaw niyang makipagsabayan sa akin."

Suico admitted he was caught off-guard when Jauregui refused to slug it out. He studied tapes of two of Jauregui’s recent fights and the Mexican fought toe-to-toe in both. Jauregui changed his style, presumably out of respect for Suico’s punching power. Suico said it took a few rounds before he could adjust to Jauregui’s switch in tactics.

Although Jauregui took an early lead, Suico had a strong finish and appeared to sweep the last four rounds. The STAR viewed the fight on tape yesterday and scored it 96-94 for Suico.

Jauregui’s stick-and-dance routine exposed holes in Suico’s defense and the Filipino confessed he was groggy in the middle rounds. But when he found his rhythm, Suico showed he was a cut above Jauregui-only two of the judges didn’t agree.

"Parang fixed ang laban," said Suico’s trainer Juanito Ablaca who worked his corner with Japanese manager Joe Koizumi. "Bago tumuntong si Randy sa lona, talo na siya. Sobra naman ang scoring ng dalawang judges na isang round lang ang binigay nila kay Randy. Okay kung draw but hindi ako aamin na natalo si Randy."

The other day, Koizumi phoned Ablaca from his Tokyo home and spoke of sending Suico to Australia to spar with stylists who box from a distance. That will likely be in the first week of November before Suico travels to the US for another fight.

Ablaca said Suico’s future is in Koizumi’s hands.

"Bahala na si manager kung anong next fight ni Randy," said Ablaca. "Baka bitawan na ni Randy ang kanyang Oriental title at lumaban na lang siya sa US."

Ablaca said Suico has more chances of landing a title shot if he campaigns in the US and besides, the purses are bigger. But he didn’t rule out the possibility of defending the Oriental title once more.

Ablaca said Oscar de la Hoya, who promoted the Suico-Jauregui fight at the University of Southern California campus, was impressed by the Filipino’s showing despite the loss.

"Hindi raw takot si Randy," said Ablaca. "Balak ng Golden Boy Promotions ni de la Hoya mag-promote muli ng laban ni Randy."

Suico said he would rather face Barrera than Jauregui but if there’s a chance to avenge his loss, he’ll take it.

"Okay sa akin labanan uli si Jauregui," said Suico. "Kung sa atin ginawa yung laban, talo siya kasi walang daya."

Suico said he was so dejected after the loss that he told Ablaca he wanted to retire. But Koizumi reassured Suico of his support and convinced him not to give up hope of someday becoming a world champion.

Suico said he trained hard for Jauregui and logged at least 80 rounds of sparring with the likes of Rev Santillan, Fernando Montilla and Nonoy Gonzales. He arrived in Los Angeles with Ablaca a week before the fight and was in tip-top condition but it all went for naught.

Ablaca said Koizumi’s reassurance lifted Suico’s spirits and the plan to train in Australia where there is an abundance of hit-and-run stylists will be a big boost in preparing him for future fights against dancers like Jauregui.

Suico’s record dipped to 23-2, with 20 KOs. It was his second loss by a controversial decision. His first loss was inflicted by Mzonke Fana who was decked twice but managed to dance away to win a split hometown verdict in South Africa last year. Ablaca said Jauregui danced a lot more than Fana to survive the distance with Suico.