“King” Arthur Villanueva. | file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Omega Pro Sports International (OPSI) will feature a stacked fight card in their one-day double-boxing event dubbed “Kumbati 8” and “Kumbati 9” slated March 27, 2021, at the International Pharmaceutical Inc. (IPI) compound in Mandaue City.
The fight card will feature two ex-world title challengers in “King” Arthur Villanueva and Mark Anthony “Da Baby Boy” Barriga, who will be going up against separate opponents in the “Kumbati 9” fight card.
Villanueva, a former member of the disbanded ALA Boxing Gym, faces Bryan Tamayo of Malabon in a six-rounder bout under the super bantamweight division.
The two-time world title challenger fell short in his most previous fight, which was the World Boxing Council (WBC) world bantamweight strap against French Nordine Oubaali held in Kazakhstan.
The 31-year-old Villanueva of Bago City has a record of 32-4-1 (win-loss-draw) with 18 knockout wins. Tamayo has 6-1-2 card with two knockouts under his belt.
Barriga (9-1-0, 1KO) of Panabo City, Davao del Norte, will fight Junuel Lacar (8-6-3, 6KOs) of Manila in a six-rounder under the light flyweight division.
Barriga, a former Olympian, was supposed to make a comeback in October 2020, roughly two years after losing in his first world title shot against Mexican Carlos Licona for the IBF world minimumweight title. Barriga lost to Licona via a split decision in the United States in 2018.
His much-anticipated comeback was supposed to be promoted by OPSI but was canceled due to health concerns. He was scheduled to fight compatriot Ricky Delos Santos.
Kumbati 9’s main event features Peter Apolinar (13-1-0, 8KOs) of the Omega Boxing Gym and Juanito Paredes (8-6-1,3KOs) of Iloilo City, squaring off for ten rounds in the featherweight division.
Kumbati 9’s fight card comprises five bouts starting at 7 pm after Kumbati 8 happening at 1:00 in the afternoon.
The main event of Kumbati 8, on the other hand, will pit Omega Boxing Gym’s Ronnie Mark Vicelles (12-0-1,6KOs) and General Santos City’s Arnold Garde (10-10-3,4KOs).
Vicelles and Garde will slug it out for ten rounds in the flyweight division. Kumbati 8 also features a total of five professional bouts.
The OPSI boxing card will be held in a bubble format to comply with health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the bubble setup, all boxers and trainers are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine and should be tested before fight night. All expenses of the stays of the boxers, trainers, and officials will be shouldered by OPSI.
/bmjo