Sabalde declares war vs Moralde

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano brawler Anthony 'Zorro' Sabalde of Noy Pacing Flores Stable said he will just let his fists do the talking when he faces the undefeated John Vincent “Mulawin” Moralde of Sanman Promotions in a 10-round rumble for the vacant WBF International featherweight title topbilling the “Brawl at the Mall:Glory” fightcard on February 13 at the Gaisano Mall Atrium in General Santos City.

This was Sabalde's reaction upon learning that Moralde, the reigning WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental 126-pound champion, wants to knock him out in their highly-anticipated rumble that will surely incite fireworks in Sanman Promotions' first offering of the year.

Sanman Promotions CEO Jim Claude 'JC' Manangquil, who charts the career path of Moralde, has made it known earlier that if victorious, he is bent on aligning his prized ward to a dream showdown with either WBO featherweight champion Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko of Ukraine or WBA titlist Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz of  Mexico.

But Sabalde vowed to derail whatever juicy plans Moralde's handlers have for him.

"Makita ra unya ni sa among duwa kung kinsay mangatumba namo (Let's just see whoever gets knocked out during the fight)," said Sabalde. "Ang akong ikapasalig kay maningkamot jud ko og maayo kay mao ni labing dako na away ug lig-on pud akong kontra (All I can promise is that I will give my best shot because this is the biggest fight of my career and I'm up against a tough opponent.)

Sabalde is reluctant to make any predictions but said that if opportunity presents itself, he won't waste even a single second in knocking the lights off Moralde.

"Akong mensahe ni Moralde nga unta nindot nga duwa ang ihatag niya nako aron malingaw ang taga GenSan (I hope Moralde will give me a good fight for the GenSan fans to enjoy)," Sabalde said.

Under the watchful eyes of trainer Brix Flores, Sabalde heads into the final phase of his rigid training regimen at the Rex "Wakee" Salud Boxing Gym, the very same sweat shop where Pinoy ring superstar Manny Pacquiao once trained for his rematch against Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera eight years ago.

"Importante kaayo ni nga away para nako mao buhaton nako kutob tanan sa akong mahimo aron modaog (This is a very important fight for me and I will do everything possible to win)," said Sabalde.

It would be a tall order though for Sabalde (10-4, 5KOs) as he slugs it out with the dangerous Moralde, a former two-time National Open amateur boxing champion who has yet to taste defeat in 14 pro bouts with a 50 percent knockout rate.

Meanwhile, Moralde's fellow unbeaten stablemate Romero Duno (8-0, 7KOs) will go up against Jason “Siaton Boy” Egera (21-6, 10KOs) of Negros Oriental for the vacant PBF super featherweight crown in the supporting main event of the slambang show. (FREEMAN)