​By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

Vic Saludar (19-3,10KO’s) is all set for another title defense on the road when he stakes his WBO minimumweight title against mandatory challenger Wilfredo Mendez (13-1,5KO’s) of Puerto Rico.

Saludar’s trainer Jojo Palacios had a short but interesting online chat with this writer about his fighter’s preparations.

“He will be leaving today (Monday) for the long travel to Puerto Rico” Palacios said, “I couldn’t join them because of visa issues. Bobby Villaver will be Vic’s cornerman during the fight. That will not be a problem because Villaver is actually my mentor.”

Villaver is a Filipino-Hawaiian who made waves as a trainer in Thailand years back when he trained Somsak Sithchatchawal - who was then a virtual unknown - who dethroned WBA world junior featherweight champion Mahyar Monshipour of France in 2006. 

“Vic’s training went really well, he has no weight problems. He is having regular meals and is just 2.4lbs over after eating breakfast today.” Palacios stated.

Palacios also changed his prediction about the fight. Early in their training camp, he told this writer that he expected a difficult fight But when asked about his boxer’s chances during our chat he said that he was confident that Saludar would win by knockout.

The 28 year old Saludar took the title in Kobe,Japan last July 13, 2018 against Ryuya Yamanaka by unanimous decision. Last February, Saludar successfully defended his title for the first time against Japanese Masataka Taniguchi also by unanimous decision at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. 

Saludar was a member of the Philippine amateur boxing team. He won a bronze medal in the light flyweight class in the 2010 Asian Games and his brother Rey won the gold in the flyweight category.

The 22 year old Mendez is the WBO number one contender and he holds the regional WBO NABO belt. His only loss happened last year by unanimous decision against Nicaraguan Leyman Benavides in the Dominican Republic.

Saludar vs Mendez will be at the Ballroom of the Centro de Convenciones de Puerto Rico in San Juan on August 24.

Photo – Vic Saludar celebrating his win in Japan

By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

WBO number 13 ranked bantamweight contender Vincent Astrolabio (13-3,9KO’s) of the Philippines will defend his WBO Oriental belt against countryman Kevin Aseniero (9-2-1,5KO’s) on the undercard of the WBO interim bantamweight title match between Johnriel Casimero and Mexican Cesar Ramirez.

The fight card will be held at the   Fil Oil Flying V San Juan Arena in San Juan City, Metro Manila.

Astrolabio’s ring monicker ‘Asero’ means Steel. The 22 year old from Gen. Santos City started his career with ten straight wins including a road victory against Chinese boxer Ayati Sailike by unanimous decision in Beijing.

Then starting in late 2017, he dropped to 2W-3L. One of those losses was by TKO to Japanese Yuki Strong Kobayashi on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Lucas Matthysse megabout in Malaysia. Astrolabio lost in his return to China by majority decision to Zong Li He in a WBO Asia Pacific junior bantamweight title bout.

But Astrolabio bounced back last April, when he traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia and stopped Indon Patrick Liukhoto in nine rounds for the vacant WBO Oriental bantamweight title. Astrolabio will be defending his regional belt for the first time against Aseniero. 

Astrolabio has also been mentioned by Casimero as one of his chief sparring partners in Davao.  

The 25 year old Aseniero is from Cagayan de Oro City. He sports the moniker ‘The Bull’. This will be his first shot at a regional title. In his last fight, he beat Japanese Kyota Otsuka by seventh round TKO in Bacoor, Cavite.

Penned to appear on the same card is Charly Suarez (2-0,2KO’s). The 30 year old former Olympian will face Virgil Puton (17-12-2,8KO’s).

August 24 will be eventful for Filipino boxing fans. On the same date in Puerto Rico, Vic Saludar will defend his WBO world minimumweight title against Puerto Rican Wilfredo Mendez.

 Photo – Vincent Astrolabio winning the WBO Oriental bantamweight title in Indonesia against Patrick Liukhoto.

​By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

John Riel Casimero (27-W-4L,18KO’s) will be making the first defense of his WBO interim world bantamweight title this August 24 on home soil. His opponent, Cesar Ramirez (18-3,11KO’s) will be fighting out of Mexico for only the second time in his career.

Casimero spent time in Manny Pacquiao’s training camp in Los Angeles when the Filipino senator was preparing for his fight against Keith Thurman. He was one of the many fighters and trainers joining Pacquiao in his now legendary roadwork and training regimen. There is a videos on youtube where Casimero and other Filipino boxers are seen doing plyometrics with Pacquiao.  

Casimero is back in the Philippines and a couple of days ago, he posted on social media that he was travelling to Davao. 

“I am now in Davao training with Nonoy Neri,” Casimero told this writer. Neri is known for being the assistant trainer for Pacquiao. He also did work a few years ago with Jerwin Ancajas, who is now the IBF world junior bantamweight champion.

“Coach Neri has many boxers that I can spar with,” Casimero added. One of his social media posts shows Casimero sparring with Vincent Astrolabio, the WBO Oriental bantamweight titleholder. 

In Ramirez’s last fight, he beat Eddy Valencia by unanimous verdict for the vacant WBC FECOMBOX superbantamweight title. The 31 year old Ramirez’s third career loss happened in the U.K. in 2016 against Ryan Burnett, who is now a former WBA world bantamweight champ. They fought for the WBC International belt with Burnett prevailing by unanimous decision. His other losses were to Mexican prospects Alejandro Gonzalez,Jr and Aaron Alameda. 


Casimero vs Ramirez will be in Metro Manila co-promoted by Pacquiao's MP Promotioms. WBO Asia Pacific Vice President Leon Panoncillo will be supervising the contest. This fight is one of the rare times Casimero gets to have a title bout in the Philippines. 


The 30 year old Casimero, from Ormoc, Leyte, is a noted road warrior, having previously seen action in eight different countries. He is also known for surviving an infamous ring riot in Argentina in 2012 where he won the IBF light flyweight title against Luis Alberto Lazarte. He captured the IBF world flyweight title in China against Thai Amnat Ruenroeng. Casimero also previously held a WBO interim world title in the light flyweight division which he won in Nicaragua in 2009 against Colombian Cesar Canchila and lost it in Mexico seven months later to Ramon Garcia Hirales.


Casimero only had a title bout twice at home. In 2013 he beat Mexico’s Felipe Salguero by 10th round TKO to retain his IBF light flyweight belt in Makati City. Then in 2014, he lost his IBF belt on the scales when he checked in overweight against Colombian Mauricio Fuentes in Cebu City. Casimero however, stopped Fuentes in round one.


As of this writing, there has been no word as to where exactly will they will hold the title bout in Metro Manila.


Casimero won the WBO interim belt last April in Carson, California by a dramatic 12th and final round stoppage of Mexican Ricardo Espinoza Franco. The regular WBO title is held by South African Zolani Tete(28-3,21KO’s), who has not defended since October 2018.


Tete suffered a right shoulder injury which forced him to pull out of the WBSS bantamweight tournament semis against Nonito ‘The Filipino Flash’ Donaire. The winner of the Casimero-Ramirez fight will face Tete with ninety days.


File photo – Johnriel Casimero training in Manila in 2016.

By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

Filipino Clyde Azarcon (15-2-1,5KO’s) will face Japanese blue chip prospect Ginjiro Shigeoka (3-0,2KO’s) on July 27 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific minimumweight title. 

Last year, Azarcon had his first attempt at a WBO regional title and lost to Rene Mark Cuarto by unanimous decision in Davao. Cuarto would go on to lose in an IBF eliminator to a fellow Filipino, Samuel Salva, also by unanimous verdict, last March. 

The 24 years old Azarcon hails from Davao City. Together with trainer Christopher ‘Pingping’ Tepora, they will be leaving for Japan Wednesday July 24.

“Clyde is ready,” Tepora told this writer, “All we need to focus now is to make weight.”

“We already reviewed a video of his opponent,” Tepora added, “The Japanese is good but Clyde has a good chance of winning. One of his sparring partners is Rhonvex Capuloy”

Capuloy is a southpaw featherweight who has a 6-1 record. Trainer Tepora is the elder brother of former WBA interim featherweight titleholder Jhack Tepora. He is also known for having trained Johnriel Casimero when he won the IBF world junior flyweight title in 2012.

The 19 year old Shigeoka, a southpaw, was born in Kumamoto, Japan. He turned pro in 2018 and is being touted as Japan’s next prospect to watch and future main attraction. His amateur record is an impressive 56-1. This included a victory in the 2017 Japanese High School National Selection Tournament in the pinweight (46kg) category.

In his last fight, he beat Filipino Joel Lino by unanimous decision.

Last February, Azarcon fought Gary Rojo to a majority draw in Cebu City. This fight showed Azarcon’s vulnerabilities, In the fourth, Azarcon sent Rojo down. But he got up and survived. Rojo looked to be in more trouble in the fifth when he was knocked down by an accidental head butt. After being given five minutes to recover, he finished the round by bloodying Azarcon’s nose. Just when it seemed Azarcon was headed for a points win, Rojo knocked him down in the eighth and final round and managed to save the fight. In his last bout, Azarcon beat Ernesto Alera by unanimous decision, also here in Cebu City.

Azarcon has a fan friendly style and has seen his share of pro ring wars. But will this be enough to stop the talented Shigeoka’s two-fisted attack and ruin the Japanese’s ascent to stardom?

Photo – Clyde Azarcon during the weigh-in for his fight against Rene Mark Cuarto

By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

A few days ago, this website featured a poster showing Ivan Soriano (20-2-1,10KO’s) of the Philippines against Olimjon Nazarov (18-5,11KO’s) of Uzbekistan for the vacant WBO Oriental flyweight title August 25 in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. 

The 30 year old Soriano will be looking to reverse his road loss last year in Shenzhen,China, by unanimous decision to Chinese prospect Ge Wenfeng for the vacant WBO International flyweight title. This was only his second loss as a pro.

Soriano is from Gen.Santos City, the hometown of Manny Pacquiao. He turned pro in 2009 and suffered his first loss in 2010 by unanimous decision to Delmar Cabatas. He spent a couple of years fighting exclusively in Thailand with a 5W (4KO’s)-1D record. Since the loss to Ge, Soriano has since bounced back with victories against Rogen Flores and Bonjun Loperez.

“Our training camp is going well,” Soriano’s trainer Jhun Agrabio told this writer, “Ivan and I have watched a video of his opponent. I think Ivan can beat him, he just needs to avoid being lax and overconfident because his opponent is naturally bigger.”

Soriano is listed as a light flyweight in boxrec while Nazarov fights as a flyweight.

The 33 years old Nazarov turned pro in 2008. He lost thrice in the U.S., including a unanimous decision loss in 2017 to Stephon Young, who was knocked out by Nonito Donaire last April. 

Nazarov has since compiled five straight wins since returning to fight in Uzbekistan. A google search yielded one of Nazarov’s accomplishments as an amateur - a bronze medal in the 2007 Asian Championships. He also has a promotional video on youtube courtesy of Cocky Buffalo, the company that will be promoting this bout.

File photo – Ivan Soriano during the weigh-in for his bout against Wenfeng Ge in Shenzhen last year.

By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

Joe Noynay was a picture of calm on social media going into his fight against Satoshi Shimizu. On the morning of the fight he posted photos of himself walking around in Osaka. Pre-fight articles stated he was in for a difficult fight and an underdog on the road.

But Noynay once again stunned the pundits. He started like a house on fire, dropping Shimizu twice in the opening round and seemed like he was headed for a quick win. But a couple of rounds later, Shimizu fired back and had Noynay on the defensive.

But Noynay recovered and adjusted. Even as the two southpaws exchanged shots, it was Noynay’s right jab and deceptive power that was the huge factor in the fight. With Shimizu’s face starting to swell, the ring doctor had to be called in to check on Shimizu’s eye.In the sixth, Shimizu turned his back as Noynay pounced for the kill. The referee correctly waived it off and the WBO Asia Pacific junior lightweight belt remained in Noynay’s hands. 

Noynay, from Cebu,Philippines, goes up to 18-2-1,7KO’s. Shimizu suffered his first loss as a professional - 8-1,8KO’s. Shimizu represented Japan in the London Olympics and captured a bronze medal. The 23 year old Noynay now has a 2W-1L record in Japan, having lost on points to Reiya Abe in 2017 and stopping Kosuke Saka in two rounds last April.

“We were actually looking for a church so we can pray, that was why we were walking around Osaka this morning,” Noynay told this writer. Noynay is a Christian like most Filipinos and makes it a habit to pray before a fight.

“I noticed his eye was starting to swell in the second,” Noynay said, “I guess he had trouble with his eyesight.”

Noynay isn’t much of a talker. He credits his latest win to hard work and faith. He doesn’t even speculate if he is headed for a world title bout. Prior to this bout, he was ranked number seven by the WBO in the 130 lb division. This victory on the road will certainly boost his status. The current WBO world champ is Jamel Herring of the U.S.

Noynay’s other significant road win was in 2017 when he beat Chinese Pan Jingxiang by eighth round technical decision in Zhongshan,China.

Noynay’s countryman, Jonathan Taconing on the other hand, lost to WBC junior flyweight world champ Ken Shiro by TKO in the fourth round.The fights were held at the Edion Arena in Osaka on the undercard of the rematch between Rob Brant and Ryota Murata which saw the Japanese Murata getting a revenge second round stoppage win to regain the WBA middleweight belt.

File Photo – Joe Noynay in Bogo, Cebu last year for his bout against Mexican Hector Garcia.

by Rene Bonsubre,Jr.

Hours ago, reports stated that Sampson Boxing won the rights to stage the IBF light flyweight eliminator between IBF number 3 contender Christian Araneta (17-0, 14 KO’s) of the Philippines and number 4 Augustin Gauto (12-0, 8 KO’s) of Argentina. 

The 24 year old Araneta's last fight was in December when he got a unanimous verdict against fellow Filipino Vincent Bautista in Cebu City.

"We already started preparing since January. We knew when Araneta was ranked number three by the IBF that we would be headed for an eliminator.”’ Omega gym trainer Julius Erving Junco told this writer, "I have seen a video of his opponent, he is very good, He is a counter puncher. But we have a good chance of winning.”

Junco is one of the more diligent young trainers here in the Philippines when it comes to studying fight videos and training techniques. 

Omega Promotions VP Jerome Calatrava told this writer that the venue of the bout is most likely in Metro Manila on October 6. He mentioned MP Promotions and Sampson Boxing as the partners of Omega in this promotion.  

They were a bit wary before the result of the purse bidding was announced. Seven years ago, when John Riel Casimero was still an Omega Gym boxer, he faced Luis Alberto Lazarte in Mar de Plata, Argentina for the IBF interim light flyweight title. Casimero beat Lazarte but the Argentine fans started to riot and assaulted Casimero and his team. This resulted in Lazarte being banned for life by the IBF and it was even reported that the Filipino ambassador to Argentina filed a protest.

Augustin Mauro Gauto sports the ring moniker ‘El Avion’ or the Plane, is twenty one years old and undefeated. He is from Buenos Aires, the reigning IBF Youth light flyweight champ and a former South American flyweight titleholder. 

Araneta aka The Bomb, does not have an extensive amateur background. He spent most of his career without any fanfare, away from the TV cameras. He was born in Borbon, Cebu and grew up with a slightly shorter left leg. This did not stop him from taking up boxing when he was 14 years old.

 It was in 2015 when he upset erstwhile world ranked Jessie Espinas. This made a few veteran Filipino boxing writers sit up and take notice. He would win a WBO Oriental title and a WBC ABCO Silver belt. Araneta would be sidelined for a year after suffering a right shoulder injury during training in 2017.  His other notable win happened last year, against former world title challenger Jerry Tomogdan, who Araneta knocked out with one punch in the twelfth and final round.

The IBF 108-pound title is currently held by Nicaraguan Felix Alvarado (35-2, 30 KO’s), who won the vacant title last August by beating Filipino Randy Petalcorin in seven rounds in the Philippines. Alvarado defended successfully on May 19 defeating Japanese Reiya Konishi in Kobe,Japan by unanimous decision. 

File Photo – Christian Araneta during the weigh-in for his fight against Jerry Tomogdan last year in Cebu.

By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

For the past couple of days, reports surfaced that South African DeeJay Kriel was vacating the IBF minimumweight crown. Kriel was supposed to defend his world title against Filipino Samuel Salva, the mandatory challenger, in the Philippines on August 24.

Another Filipino, Pedro Taduran (13-2,10KO’s), ranked number 3 by the IBF, is now being tapped to fight Salva (17-0,10KO’s) for the vacant title in an all-Filipino showdown possibly on September 7. Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions earlier won the purse bid to stage Salva’s title challenge.

The 22 year old Salva is currently training in Iligan City, Northern Mindanao. 

“Yes, they already told me I would be fighting another Filipino,” Salva told this writer, “I wanted to fight Kriel, take the belt away from the champion. But fighting Taduran is okay, I have no problem fighting another Filipino, whoever wins, a Filipino will be world champion.”

“I am currently sparring with Marco Rementizo. My training is going well,” Salva stated, “I will be moving my training camp soon to Cavite, the Survival camp.”

Rementizo (10-3,7KO’s) is a light flyweight with a 1W-1L record fighting overseas in Thailand. The Survival Camp in Cavite will provide Salva with a championship atmosphere during training; it is the home base of IBF super flyweight world champ Jerwin Ancajas.

“I feel this is my time. I will be world champion.” Salva concluded.

Salva earned the right to fight for the IBF title after beating another Filipino, Rene Mark Cuarto by unanimous decision last March. The undefeated Salva was a virtual unknown before appearing on this televised fight card in the Philippines.

The 22 year old Taduran will not be a pushover. He already has world championship experience, having lost to WBC strawweight world champ Chayaphon Moonsri a.k.a Wanheng Menayothin  (53-0,18KO’s) of Thailand last year by unanimous decision. His only other loss was a split verdict to Joel Lino three years ago. Taduran is currently the Philippine minimumweight champion.

 The first all-Filipino world title fight in history was held in Manila in 1925, when Pancho Villa successfully defended his title on points against Clever Sencio. The lives of both men would have a tragic end in the United States. Villa died ten days after losing a non-title bout to Jimmy McLarnin due to a worsening infection after having a wisdom tooth extraction. A year after his fight with Villa, Sencio was found dead in his hotel room due to brain hemorrhage after a decision loss to Bud Taylor.

Last year, we saw two all-Filipino world title bouts but both didn’t satisfy the casual fans. Jerwin Ancajas defended his IBF belt against Jonas Sultan by unanimous verdict. It was a relatively easy win for Ancajas but fans at ringside grew restless and discontented. Donnie Nietes and Aston Palicte fought for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight title and the bout ended in a controversial split draw. Both fights were held in the U.S. 

The all-Filipino title match-ups also paled in comparison to the memorable Mexican civil wars - Rafael Marquez vs Israel Vasquez and Marco Antonio Barrera vs Erik Morales are notable examples.

Will Salva vs Taduran have fans wishing for more all-Filipino battles?

PHOTO - From video of Samuel Salva's fight against Oliver Gregorio

​By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.


Vic Saludar (19-3,10KO’s) of the Philippines will defend his WBO minimumweight world title against the mandatory challenger Wilfredo Mendez (13-1,5KO’s) of Puerto Rico. This will be another road battle for Saludar on August 24 with the fight set at the challenger’s home country.

Last February, Saludar successfully defended his title for the first time against Japanese Masataka Taniguchi by unanimous decision at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. 

The 28 years old Saludar took the title in Kobe,Japan last July 13, 2018 against Ryuya Yamanaka, also by unanimous decision. Saludar decked Yamanaka in round seven with a hard right hand that changed the complexion of what was a close fight in the first six rounds.

Saludar lost in his first world title attempt on New Year’s Eve 2015, when then champion Kosei Tanaka stopped him with a body shot in round six. 

“Saludar has already started to train,” Promoter Kenneth Rontal told this writer. Rontal promotes Vic and his brother Froilan here in the Philippines and he heads Championship Boxing Promotions. They decided not to go through the purse bidding that was initially planned on June 27.

“Saludar’s training is going well,” Trainer Jojo Palacios told this writer, “He is very disciplined. This will be our most difficult challenge. We need to be very impressive in this fight, it will be a difficult fight but if the opportunity comes, we will go for a knockout.”

Saludar is a former mainstay of the Philippine amateur boxing team. He won a bronze medal in the light flyweight class in the 2010 Asian Games and his brother Rey won the gold in the flyweight category.

Mendez is the WBO number one contender. The 22 years old southpaw is also ranked number 11 by the IBF and number 14 by the WBA. He was initially reported early this year as an opponent for Filipino Robert Paradero for the right to face Saludar. That fight didn’t push through. 

Mendez holds the regional WBO NABO belt. His only loss happened in 2018, by unanimous decision against Nicaraguan Leyman Benavides in the Dominican Republic. In his last fight, Mendez scored a split decision verdict against countryman Janiel Rivera.

Mendez aims to follow the footsteps of countrymen Alex Sanchez and Ivan Calderon who previously held the WBO 105 lb division title.

August 24 will be an exciting day for Philippine boxing; on the same date Filipino Samuel Salva is scheduled to challenge IBF minimumweight world champion DeeJay Kriel of South Africa in Metro Manila.

PHOTO – Vic Saludar

​By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

Filipino contenders Arthur Villanueva (31-3-1,18KO’s) and Jonathan Taconing (28-3-1,22KO’s) both experienced fighting at the world championship level twice and came up short. They will be getting a third shot at glory this July. 

Villanueva will be the first to step up to the plate when he fights the undefeated WBC world bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali (15-0, 11KO’s) of France at the Barys Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan on July 6.

Villanueva was a rising star in Philippine boxing and touted as a future world champ. He was undefeated in 27 fights when he fought Puerto Rican McJoe Arroyo in 2015 for the vacant IBF world junior bantamweight title. Villanueva lost a tenth round technical decision. The fight was stopped due to Villanueva’s cut near the right eye. The scores were wide in favor of Arroyo - 98-91 twice and 97-92. But the punch stats told a different story with Villanueva shown to be busier, throwing 494 and landing 95, while Arroyo threw just 278 and landed 77. No rematch happened and Arroyo would lose his title to another Filipino, Jerwin Ancajas.

Villanueva would win his next three fights and got another shot at a vacant title, this time the WBO interim bantamweight belt against South African Zolani Tete. Villanueva lost by a lopsided unanimous decision in Leicester,U.K. Tete would be recognized as the regular world champion by the WBO.

Villanueva went 2W-1L-1D in his next four bouts, which included a 6th round TKO loss to Mexican Luis Nery in Tijuana and a listless performance against countryman Carlo Demecillo in Cebu, a bout that was scored a draw last November.

Villanueva is only ranked number 15 by the WBC. The WBO has him much higher at number 4. Now at 30 years old, time is not on Villanueva’s side. This could very well be his last title shot.

The 32 year old Oubaali is of Moroccan descent and is an accomplished amateur. He won a bronze medal in the 2007 World Amateur Championships in the light flyweight category. 

Two years ago, Oubaali scored a seventh round knockout win over Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo. Aside from having won WBO regional belts, Geraldo is known for being the only boxer to beat Jerwin Ancajas seven years ago in Cebu.

Oubaali, a southpaw, won the WBC world title by unanimous decision against American Rau’shee Warren by unanimous decision. This fight was on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s win against Adrien Broner in Las Vegas last January. He will be making his first title defense.

Then on July 12 at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Taconing will challenge WBC world light flyweight champion Ken Shiro of Japan.

Taconing, a southpaw, turned pro in 2007 and had his first title shot in 2012 against then WBC light flyweight champ Thai Kompayak Porpramook (Suriyan Satorn). He lost by a controversial technical decision in the fifth round that left many in the Philippines crying foul. The fight was topped due to a cut on Taconing in round four. The scores read 47-47 and 48-46, 50-45 in favor of Kompayak. There was a protest and a reported review of the fight. The late Ronnie Nathanielz, a famous boxing scribe in the Philippines, wrote that the WBC suspended the referee Jae Bong Kim because of his performance in that fight. But a rematch never happened.

Taconing had to wait four years for another title shot. In between he had notable wins against fellow Filipino Vergilio Silvano and former WBO world champ Ramon Garcia Hirales of Mexico. Taconing traveled to Mexico City but lost to Ganigan Lopez in their WBC light flyweight title bout by unanimous decision.

Taconing racked up six wins since then including a unanimous verdict against young rising local prospect Vince Paras. He is the WBC’s number one contender in the 108 lb division. 

The 27 year old Shiro whose real name is Kenshiro Teraji, is unbeaten at 15-0,8KO’s. He dethroned Ganigan Lopez in 2017 and has since compiled five successful defenses, which includes a second round KO of Lopez in their rematch and a seventh round TKO win over Filipino Milan Melindo, a former IBF world champ.

Taconing is now 32 years old. World title shots don’t come very often even in the present era of multiple governing bodies. Just like Villanueva,there will be a sense of urgency when he enters the ring on fight night.

Photo - Arthur Villanueva (left) and Jonathan Taconing