Finally, Cuello seals title shot

MANILA, Philippines - After over three years of waiting, Denver Cuello will finally get a shot at a world title when he battles WBC minimumweight champion Xiong Zhao Zong of China in a 12-round bout at the World Trade Center in Dubai on June 28.

The fight almost fell through when Xiong’s manager Lu Gang, a TV executive, was cleared by WBC president Jose Sulaiman to negotiate a voluntary defense against No. 12 contender Carlos Ortega of Panama in a Gary Shaw promotion in Las Vegas last April 13. The deal included a step aside fee of $25,000 for Cuello, the mandatory challenger. When the fight fizzled out, Lu tried to firm up a May 13 date with Golden Boy but that was scuttled, too.

Sulaiman then advised Cuello’s manager Aljoe Jaro to reopen talks with Lu. “The day after Don Jose called me on the phone, I met with Lu in Bangkok,” said Jaro. “I offered Xiong an $80,000 purse to fight Denver in Manila but that was turned down. Lu wanted it in China or Macau. I had no preference, any place is okay with Denver. We’re confident of winning anywhere, anytime.”

Eventually, KO Promotions of Dubai stepped up to offer $60,000 to Xiong and $40,000 to Cuello. Lu accepted the bid and sealed the title defense on neutral grounds. Jaro said the WBC will assign neutral officials for the bout.

“I know deep inside, Denver’s excited to fight for the title,” said Jaro. “Everyone’s been ducking Denver for three years. Now is his time. He feels the title should’ve been his a long time ago. It’s like he just lent the belt to Xiong. Now, he wants it back. This is his chance to become a legitimate world champion. Denver’s wife (Rowena) is pregnant and will give birth in September, their second child after Prince who’s now three years old. So he’s looking forward to building a future for his family and a good way to start is to win the world title.”

Cuello, Jaro and cornermen George Sol and Romaldo Mahinay leave Manila for Dubai on June 20. “Once Denver hits Xiong, it’s game over,” said Jaro. “I think Denver will finish the fight inside six rounds. I know Xiong is a proud and durable warrior but if he takes too much punishment, I expect the referee to stop it. Xiong’s face will be so busted up to force the referee to step in. I’ve never seen Denver stronger in the gym. He’s wiping out his sparmates and taking pity on them so he’s not pushing himself. Some of his sparmates are Sonny Boy Jaro, Jomar Fajardo and Lionel Legada.”

Cuello sparred 12 rounds against four fighters at Hermie Esguerra’s newly built gym in Lipa yesterday. TV broadcaster Chino Trinidad arranged the session to give Cuello a taste of different sparmates.

Xiong, 30, is 5-foot-tall and shorter than Cuello by three inches. “Denver’s recent opponents were taller,” said Jaro. “Takashi Kunishige was 5-8 but he was knocked down in the second round. Denver beat him on a majority decision. Ivan Meneses was also taller and Denver won on points. His last two wins went the distance because Denver took both fights at short notice to keep busy. They were seven months apart. We were waiting for a title shot but nobody wanted to give Denver a chance until finally, Don Jose intervened.”

Jaro said Cuello won’t find it difficult to hit Xiong. “He’s an easy target because he hardly moves, he just stands in front of you,” said Jaro. “But I warned Denver not to be overconfident because Xiong is the defending champion and he’s out to prove himself against the No. 1 contender.”

In Cuello’s last two fights, he scaled 110 and 107 1/2 pounds but for Xiong, the limit is 105. “Right now, Denver’s at 113,” said Jaro. “He’ll make the weight for sure. He’s in excellent shape. The right shoulder that used to bother him is fine now. What I want him to develop is more power in the left        hand because Xiong is right-handed. All the sparmates we’ve lined up for him are right-handers. He’s very relaxed and confident in training camp.”

Cuello, 26, has a 33-4-6 record, with 21 KOs, compared to Xiong’s 20-4-1, with 11 KOs. Cuello has won his last 12 fights since losing a highly disputed third round disqualification to Juan Hernandez in Mexico City in 2010. Xiong claimed the vacant WBC 105-pound throne after outpointing Mexico’s Javier Martinez Resendiz in his Kunming, China, hometown last November. Xiong has fought 18 of his 25 fights in Kunming and never won on the road, losing thrice in Japan. In 2008, he lost a 12-round decision to Filipino Julius Alcos in Chengdu.