Jaca eyes second OPBF feather title vs Japanese

Jimrex Jaca, the cagey Filipino slugger who stopped Mexican Geronimo Hernandez inside the first round of an under card to the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales rematch, eyes his second Orient Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) title tomorrow at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

The pride of Sibulan, Negros Oriental will be vying for the vacant OPBF super featherweight throne opposite local hero Nobuhito Honmo in a scheduled 12-rounder. He used to rule the OPBF super bantamweight class two years ago. Solar will cover the event starting at 9 p.m. with replay on May 26 at 5 p.m.

Boxing manager Rex "Wakee" Salud, the handler of Jaca, believes his ward will not disappoint the Filipino viewers."We’re very thankful to Solar Sports for giving exposure to our Filipino boxers even if they’re not fighting for the world title," said Salud.

Jaca sports an impressive 25-1-1 win-loss-draw record with 12 knockouts. Japanese Yasuo Kunimi inflicted Jaca’s only loss, a seventh round stoppage on May 30, 2004.

But it was considered a fluke as Jaca failed to make the weight limit and was stripped of the title before the fight.

The 29-year-old nicknamed Powerful Honmo is boasting of a 27-4-2 card. An endurance fighter, Honmo has won his last five fights via full route — all at the Korakuen Hall.

His handler, Kadoebi Jewel, also knows how to make a champion. Jewel is also managing the career of World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight king Eagle Kyowa.