No sweat for Boom Boom

Hard-hitting superbantamweight Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista of Candijay, Bohol, used a bone-crunching body attack to blast Brazilian veteran Giovanni Andrade into submission at 0:01 of the fourth round and establish himself as a serious contender for the world title at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, last Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila).

It was no contest from the start as Bautista, inactive since May because of a virus and a fractured collarbone, took the initiative and chased Andrade from pillar to post. Andrade refused to mix it up with Bautista, preferring to dart in and out. But Bautista deftly cut the ring off on Andrade and methodically broke down the Brazilian’s defense.

Andrade, 36, absorbed a lot of punishment as Bautista stepped up his assault in the third round to crack the World Boxing Commission 122-pound titlist’s will. Bautista, who was only six years old when Andrade turned pro in 1993, was merciless in pursuing his prey.

Andrade dropped both hands and appeared to showboat with Bautista pressing the attack. He took power shots to the head and body from Bautista who kept a furious pace from the onset.

When the bell rang to signal the start of the fourth round, Andrade sat on his stool and surrendered. There was speculation he suffered a broken rib.

"Andrade had no intention to make a fight of it," said ALA stable owner Tony Aldeguer whose son Michael is Bautista’s manager. "Andrade tried to hit and run but Boom Boom knew how to stop him from moving. In the first two rounds, Boom Boom chased him all over the ring and in the third round, he began to hurt him. I was told Andrade complained it was like he was being stabbed when Boom Boom hit his body."

Writers Justin Stone and Bill Skog of the website fightnews.com said Bautista "impressively lived up to his billing" in a report from Tampa. They said Bautista "looked sharp in a short but dominating performance." Andrade reportedly complained to the ringside physician that he couldn’t breathe before throwing in the towel. Bautista’s relentless body attack did the damage.

Aldeguer got ringside reports from chief lieutenant Sammy Gello-ani by phone and watched the fight on local TV in his Cebu home.

He skipped going to Tampa to attend to a family obligation and to arrange for the funeral of his fighter A. J. Banal’s 64-year-old father Hipolito who died of a heart attack last week.

Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim said Bautista’s impressive victory reinforced his belief that Boom Boom is destined to be a world champion.

"He performed very well," said Lim who saw the fight on TV in Manila. "He didn’t allow Andrade to move around. He showed he’s ready to go for the championship."

Bautista will arrive in Manila on a Philippine Airlines jet from Los Angeles on Wednesday then take the 10:30 a.m. connecting flight to Cebu.

Oscar de la Hoya, who owns Bautista’s promotional rights, was impressed with the Filipino’s performance, said Aldeguer, and may arrange for Boom Boom to fight in the undercard of his match against Floyd Mayweather in May at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

De la Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins entered the ring to congratulate Bautista after the massacre.

"I want Boom Boom to fight once more before May," said Aldeguer. "It could be on Feb. 10 in the US or if it pushes through, on Feb. 17 in Golden Boy’s planned Philippines versus Mexico World Cup with Fernando Montiel defending the world superflyweight title against Z Gorres in the main event, possibly in Manila or Cebu. Boom Boom likes to be independent so we’ll figure out what is the best option for him."

Aldeguer said Bautista’s immediate target is the World Boxing Organization superbantamweight title now held by Mexico’s Daniel Ponce de Leon whose record is 30-1, with 28 KOs. But there are rumors Ponce de Leon may relinquish the throne to move up to the featherweight division, leaving the title vacant for Bautista and the next available leading contender to dispute.

Bautista’s win over Andrade raised his record to 21-0, with 16 KOs. The loss dropped Andrade’s mark to 52-10, with 43 KOs.

De la Hoya rolled out the red carpet for Bautista in the US and even provided the fighter a stretch limousine in Tampa. He described the 20-year-old Bautista as "one very special fighter who is considered the next Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, nothing can get any bigger than this."

Bautista caught a flu virus and withdrew from a fight against Alejandro Montiel in the Pacquiao-Oscar Larios undercard at the Araneta Coliseum last July. Then, he fractured his right collarbone in training, forcing the postponement of his Sept. 16 fight against Andrade.