Unbeaten pug heads for Mexico

MANILA, Philippines - Unbeaten Drian Francisco stakes his No. 1 ranking and a guaranteed shot at the WBA superflyweight title in a big gamble by facing former unified champion Cristian Mijares in a 12-round bout for the interim crown in Mexico this October.

Francisco’s manager Elmer Anuran confirmed Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran’s offer the other day to stage the fight for the interim 115-pound title vacated by Nonito Donaire.

WBA superflyweight ruler Hugo Cazares of Mexico is required to make a defense against the No. 1 contender but has until January to fight under the nine-month rule from when he won the title. Francisco, who holds the WBA International belt, is Cazares’ mandatory challenger.

“We’ve offered Cazares a $150,000 purse to defend the title against Drian in Manila but he’s not biting,” said Anuran. “Now, he wants to avail of his nine-month allowance period. We don’t know if he’s scared of Drian or what. All we know is Cazares’ manager Nacho Huizar never expected Drian to beat Roberto Vasquez last year. Huizar was in Manila when Drian knocked out Vasquez and I think he was shocked. He’s been monitoring Drian’s progress. Before Drian knocked out Ricardo Nunez last April, Nacho phoned from Mexico saying there’s no way we’ll lose. It’s like Nacho knows more about Drian than he knows about Cazares.”

Francisco, 27, has never fought outside the Philippines and taking on Mijares, a crafty veteran, in Mexico is a calculated risk.

“When we got the offer from Beltran, Drian and I talked about it in a one-on-one meeting,” said Anuran. “We don’t want to stay idle waiting for Cazares and it won’t do Drian any good if we get him an easy opponent just to keep busy. Drian wants to prove himself to the world. If he beats Mijares and I’m confident he will, it puts a lot of pressure on Cazares. It’s almost like telling Cazares watch out, Drian’s coming to take your title away.”

Anuran said a win over Mijares, the No. 6 contender, will open doors for Francisco in major fistic markets.

“It’s Drian’s time to shine,” said Anuran. “He’s got to give it his all. The whole world will be watching. He feels he’s ready. It took him a long time to become the mandatory challenger. Now, he wants to show the world he has what it takes to become a world champion. I’m not worried about Drian losing his chance to challenge Cazares.”

Anuran said Beltran will detail the terms of the contract this week. The fight is expected to take place in the first week of October in a major Mexican city.

To prepare for Mijares, Anuran plans to bring Francisco for training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles in September. “We want Drian to gain some exposure training with Freddie Roach if he’s available,” said Anuran. “That will probably be when Manny (Pacquiao) starts training for his next fight. I think the experience in Wild Card will boost Drian’s confidence. We also want to bring Jetro Pabustan along as Drian’s sparring partner. Jetro is a tall southpaw like Mijares. The problem is Jetro still has no passport or visa. I heard it now takes about 1 1/2 months to process a passport then he has to apply for a visa. Drian’s father Joe and his trainer Benny de la Pena will take care of his corner against Mijares.”

Francisco said he’s not scared of Mijares. “If I’m not afraid of (Vic) Darchinyan who knocked out Mijares, why should I be scared of Mijares?” continued the Sablayan, Mindoro Occidental fighter. “Darchinyan refused to fight me and went up to bantamweight instead. I know Mijares is a skillful boxer but I don’t think he has the power of Vasquez or Nunez.”

Francisco boasts a 19-0-1 record, with 15 KOs compared to Mijares’ 39-6-2, with 17 KOs. Mijares turned pro in 1997, eight years before Francisco, and made five successful championship defenses until he lost the WBA and WBC titles to Darchinyan in 2008. Among his victims were Thailand’s Chatchai Sasakul, brothers Jorge and Francisco Arce, Alexander Munoz and Filipino B. J. Dolorosa who was knocked out in three rounds last December.

Mijares has won his last three outings, one of them via a body shot to score a third round disposal of Jesus Vidal. Known as a tough finisher who never gives up, Mijares has won six bouts by split decision. He has a three-inch reach advantage over Francisco whose last four bouts ended by knockout, including two over Vasquez and Nunez, both highly-touted Panamanians.