Jeo “Santino” Santisima (left) and Mexican Victor Uriel “Yuca” Lopez.
CHRISTIAN MANINGO
On the eve of the biggest fights of their respective boxing careers, Jeo “Santino” Santisima and Kevin Jake “KJ” Cataraja feel no pressure as they headline two of the three World Boxing Organization (WBO) regional title fights in the Pinoy Pride 45: Quest For Greatness tonight at the IEC Convention Center in Cebu City.
Both aware that bigger opportunities lie ahead of them if they win, these ALA Boxing Gym prospects eye no less than knockout victories against tough Mexican warriors.
Santisima, who sports a 16-2-0 (win-loss-draw) record with 14 knockout victories, defends his WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight title against Mexican champion Uriel “Yuca” Lopez (13-6-0, 6KOs) in the main event while Cataraja (8-0-0, 7KOs) locks horns with Mexican Hugo “Scarface” Reyes (9-1-1, 7KOs) for the WBO Youth Super Flyweight belt.
For their promoter and manager, Michael Aldeguer of ALA Promotions International, the outcome of Santisima and Cataraja’s fights will determine whether or not they are world champion caliber. He believes both have potential.
“Jeo really has the potential to be a world title challenger in the future,” said Aldeguer. “This will be crucial for him to see if he has what it takes to make it big time. We are pitting him against a dangerous Mexican and its now up for him to prove his worth.”
A win would help Santisima break into the top 10 of his division. He likes his chances against the Mexican and revealed that he will be going for the early kill.
“He is my first Mexican opponent and I know what they are capable of. They are tough, but I am going for the knockout early. If I see that opening, I will not hesitate to finish him off,” said Santisima, who tipped the scales at 122 pounds, one pound heavier than his Mexican foe during the official weigh-in yesterday at SM City Cebu’s activity center.
Cataraja, meanwhile, believes he is more prepared this time than the first time he fought a Mexican in 2016, when he beat the more experienced Antonio Rodriguez via unanimous decision.
“I learned my lessons, so I prepared everything for this fight. I made sure that I watched Reyes’ fight tapes so that I know what to do inside the ring,” said Cataraja, who weighed in at 114.25 pounds. Reyes weighed 115 pounds.
The other WBO regional title showdown pits “Prince” Albert Pagara (30-1-0. 21KOs) and Ghanaian knockout artist George Krampah (14-3-0, 12KOs) in the supporting main event.
Pagara is staking his WBO Intercontinental Super Bantamweight title.
Pagara was one pound over the weight limit of their 122-pound division while Krampah tipped the scales at 120 pounds. Pagara managed to shed off the excess weight a little after the weigh-in event.