Unbeaten Pinoy pugs show stuff in Dubai

MANILA, Philippines - Unbeaten Filipino fighters Genesis Servania and “King” Arthur Villanueva vowed not to disappoint their famed benefactor and the Filipino boxing fans when they see action in their first major international exposure.

The two headline the “Pinoy Pride” duel in Dubai set on Sept. 5 at the Dubai World Trade Center, marking the inaugural boxing card overseas of Cebu-based ALA Promotions.

ALA president and CEO Michael Aldeguer has entrusted the fate of the entire event on the shoulders of the two promising world challengers to show the kind of confidence he has on both Villanueva and Servania.

“We thank Mr. Aldeguer for giving us the chance to fight in the first Pinoy Pride outside the country. I’ve trained hard for this. I won’t leave anything to chance in the fight,” said Servania during the sendoff press conference tendered by ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports on Saturday at Annabel’s on Morato.

“I thank ALA and ABS-CBN for their trust in us. I will go all out to win,” Villanueva said,

Both Villanueva and Servania fought once outside of the country, but not in this magnitude when they’re in for a tough outing in the 27th edition of the popular boxing series dubbed “Duel in Dubai.”

Servania (24-0, 10 KOs) will stake his WBO Inter-Continental super bantamweight crown against Mexican Jose Cabrera.

Cabrera has a record of 22-4, with 10 KOs. He is a former Mexico flyweight champion and challenged unsuccessfully for the WBO super-flyweight title against Omar Narvaez of Argentina in 2012.

Villanueva (25-0, 14 KOs) is facing Nicaraguan Henry Maldonado, who boasts of a 19-3 (14 KOs) record. At stake in the 12-round match is the International Boxing Federation (IBF) International junior bantamweight championship.

Also part of the card is comebacking former world title contender Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, who takes on another Mexican in Juan Jose Marquez in a 10-round featherweight match.