Sports5 airs Bakbakan

CEBU, Philippines - Another big-time Bakbakan match-up will be shown today over Sports5, the sports arm of TV5, featuring the doubleheader pitting World Boxing Association light-welterweight champion Amir Khan against Paul McCloskey and World Boxing Council welterweight title holder Andre Berto versus Victor Ortiz.

The two world title fights will be shown 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on TV5 and AksyonTV UHF Ch 41 (Ch 29 in Metro Cebu and Metro Davao). Primetime replay of both bouts will be on Sports5’s AKTV sports block on Ch 13, 7-9 p.m.

The Khan-McCloskey match will be aired straight from the Manchester Evening News Arena in London where both British fighters are considered the top two light welterweights in the world today.

Meanwhile, the Berto-Ortiz showdown is going to be shown live from the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Ironically, both Khan and Ortiz have both been linked with Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.

Khan, 24, is once a sparmate of Manny Pacquiao and shares the same trainer in the great Freddie Roach. He has a ring record of 24-1, with 17 KOs and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Argentenian Marcos Maidana in an action-packed 12-round encounter named as the “2010 Fight of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Berto meanwhile, had once been considered as a likely Pacquiao opponent until Sugar Shane Mosley came into the picture and struck a May 7 title fight with the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter today.

The telecast of the Khan-McCloskey and Berto-Ortiz double bout this Sunday is a continuation of Sports5’s bid to air the best boxing matches on free TV following last week’s featured bout between Mexican legend Erik Morales and Maidana. Sports5 is gearing up to be the premier sports authority in the country.