Muñoz sees KO over Servania

MANILA, Philippines - Veteran Alexander Muñoz believes a convincing win over unbeaten Filipino Genesis Servania will net him another crack at the world title.

Confident he still has the power that knocked out 28 of his 36 previous opponents, the 35-year-old Venezuelan vowed to beat Servania on Saturday when the two face off in the co-main event of the 24th edition of the Pinoy Pride at Solaire Resort and Casino Hotel.

Muñoz arrived in the country Tuesday night and declared he came over to win in his first ever fight on the comeback trail.

“He came here to win. He doesn’t want to pick any rounds, but he definitely has two strong hands, the left and the right,” said Jorge Roa, manager of Muñoz (36-5, 28 KOs), during Thursday’s final press conference for the seven-fight boxing card presented by ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports.

Muñoz, a former two-time World Boxing Association (WBA) super-flyweight champion, boasted he won his first 23 fights via knockout before suffering his first loss the next bout owing to an injury.

“I know I got the power,” said Muñoz while raising his fist.

The Venezuelan was supposed to be retiring after losing his last match against unbeaten Leo Sta. Cruz (technical knockout) in the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Robert Guerrero world title fight in Las Vegas last year.

But after almost a year of hibernation, he was lured to return to the ring since “he thought he can still come back,” according to Roa.

“He has the experience and really trained hard for this fight,” said Roa of Muñoz, who cited boxing greats Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Bernard Hopkins, and even Floyd Jr, as among his inspirations for remaining competitive inside the ring despite their advancing age.

Still, Servania (23-0, 9 KOs) remained unperturbed, well aware that a victory over Muñoz could line him up for a possible world title shot next.

“Based sa record, hindi ko naman iniisip yan. Basta tingnan na lang natin pag-akyat na ng ring,” said the 22-year-old pride of Negros Occidental, who was joined in the podium by ALA Boxing Promotions president Michael Aldeguer, stablemate King Arthur Villanueva and Albert Pagara, along with trainers Edito and Edmond Villamor.

Villanueva (24-0, 14 KOs) is featured in the other co-main event as he battles last-minute replacement Fernando Aguilar of Mexico, while Pagara (18-0, 12 KOs clashes with Indonesian Isack Junior.