Christian Araneta (standing right) is being led to his corner in this March 18 file photo while Referee Tony Pesons asks for the ring doctor to revive Indonesian fighter Demsi Manufoe whom Araneta knocked out in the opening round of their Whos Next fight at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
LITO TECSON)
He was supposed to defend his boxing crown tonight and earn a sizeable paycheck. But a shoulder injury rendered months of backbreaking training useless and his boxing career in the backburner.
WBO Oriental light flyweight champion Christian “The Bomb”Araneta said life on the sidelines is hard as he was forced to take an eight-month rest after tearing a shoulder muscle while training.
The injury also cancelled his title defense originally slated tonight against compatriot Jessie Espinas in a much-anticipated rematch in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
The 22-year old Araneta (14-0,12KOs) and Esoinas are supposed to tangle in the co-main event of ‘Who’s Next? 5.’
Araneta lamented the missed opportunity which would have provided him the chance to improve his rankings.
“After rehab, I hope to start conditioning training and after six months, I hope to start light training with the others,” he said.
Despite his optimism of reclaiming his old fighting form, Araneta is wary that the long layoff may affect his future performance. “I felt that I was close to being ready for a world title fight. I was No. 7 (in the WBO) and two or three more fights and I would have been ranked as high as No. 3 and be selected for a world title fight,” said Araneta. “It has always been my dream to be a world champion.”
“I think I will be back fighting six rounds again until I can fully recover and be able to fight for 12 rounds,” said Araneta, who grew up in Borbon town, north Cebu. “It would have been a great fight. He could hurt me and I could really hurt him also.”
Omega Pro Sports International (OPSI) officials still don’t have a new date and venue for ‘Who’s Next? 5.’
The scrapped fight card was supposed to headline another unbeaten Omega Boxing Gym boxer Jhack “El Capitan” Tepora who was supposed to defend his WBO Oriental Super bantamweight title against Mexican Emmanuel Dominguez (21-5-2,13KOs).