Jeo Santisima (left) and Joet Gonzales strike a pose during their pre-fight press conference in Fresno, California. | Screengrab from the press conference live stream.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world title challenger Jeo “Santino” Santisima of Zip-Sanman Boxing Team met his American opponent Joet Gonzales for the first time during their pre-fight presser in Fresno, California on Wednesday, (Thursday, Manila Time).
Santisima and Gonzales are scheduled to square off in a 10-round, non-title bout on Friday (Saturday, Manila Time) in the co-main event of Jose Pedraza-Jose Ramirez junior welterweight showdown.
The fight card is promoted by Top Rank/ESPN+ and will happen at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
For the 25-year old Santisima of Aroroy, Masbate said he is very thankful for the opportunity to land a major fight against a contender like Gonzales.
“I’m very thankful for this opportunity given to me by Sean Gibbons and my promoter Jean Claude Mananquil. This fight is going to be great, considering we’ve fought Emanuel Navarrete for the world title before. We’re both world title challengers, and I believed I gained a lot of experience fighting Navarrete,” said Santisima who is training in the United States for the past month under the tutelage of Michael Domingo.
Santisima fought Navarrete, the long-time WBO world featherweight champion in 2020 but came up short after losing via an 11th round technical knockout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Gonzales on the other hand fought Navarrete in 2021 where he lost via unanimous decision in San Diego, California.
Gonzales, a two-time world title challenger said that he is eyeing world title shots that is why he worked very hard for this fight against Santisima.
“There’s definitely another title shot for me in the future because I worked hard and I see myself as one of the top boxers. I fought top boxers in my division. I had great performance in my last fight, I’m ready to get back in there. I’m physically and mentally ready,” said the 28-year old Gonzales of Glendora, California.
On paper, Santisima and Gonzales are equally matched. Santisima, the former ALA Boxing Gym stalwart has 21 wins,18 knockouts, and three defeats while Gonzales has a 24-2 (win-loss) slate with 14 knockouts.
Both boxers are also in the top 10 of the WBO featherweight division. Gonzales is ranked No.6 while Santisima is at No. 7.
The fight card was supposed to happen last February 5 but was rescheduled to March 4 after Pedraza tested positive for Covid-19. /rcg
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