With the way he sounded, Mexican boxer Antonio Meza is bent upon further ruining the career of young Filipino prospect Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista.
Interviewed by Mexican website notifight.com, the 25-year-old Meza guaranteed his countrymen that he will bring home the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Intercontinental superbantamweight belt at stake in his 12-round encounter with Bautista.
“I’ve been preparing for this kind of opportunity. I know how he fights. But I am a fighter and I do not rely on video tapes alone. What is important is I know what to do inside the ring to win,” said Meza.
Meza will conclude his training on Nov. 26 and I will immediately fly to Manila. This will be Meza’s first fight outside of Mexico.
“It is a challenge that I can surpass. I’m ready to fight in the Philippines and will bring the title back home with me,” said Meza.
Meza has a record of 23-2 with 16 knockouts while Bautista carries a 23-1 record with 17 KOs.
Bautista is hard-pressed to win this bout, hoping that a victory will regain for him the adulation he lost when he bowed to world super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon of Mexico via a crushing first round technical knockout loss.
Bautista’s loss in some ways spoiled what many Filipinos thought was a scintillating 5-1 win scored by Team Philippines over Mexico during the second staging of the fledgling World Cup of Boxing held last Aug. 11 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.
Meza, meanwhile, won a vacant regional title during his last outing, the WBC Fecombox super bantamweight crown by stopping compatriot Romel Aguilar in the third round June of his year at the Palenque del Fex in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
Meza expressed his awareness about the way their bout is being hyped in the Philippines.
“I am going to show them that I have the technical and physical capacity to win in front of his home crowd,” said Meza.
The Meza-Bautista bout will topbill a thrilling year-end boxing extravaganza scheduled on the morning of Dec. 2 at the Araneta Coliseum. The event is presented by Third Force Promotions led by former PBA commissioner Noli Eala.
Serving as the supporting main event is 18-year-old sensation AJ “Bazooka” Banal (15-0-1, 12 KOs) who will go up against another Mexican fighter Jovanny Soto (25-7-1, 20 KOs) in a 10-round clash.