Regie Suganob (left) and Mark Vicelles strike a pose during the official weigh-in for Kumong Bol-Anon 9 in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Suganob and Vicelles will battle for the IBF world light flyweight title eliminator in Calape, Bohol tomorrow. | Glendale Rosal
TAGBILARAN CITY, BOHOL — The stage is set for the biggest bout in the local boxing scene as Regie “Filipino phenom” Suganob and Mark “Rasta Mac” Vicelles collides for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) world light flyweight title on Saturday at the Calape Cultural and Sports Complex.
This is after Suganob and Vicelles passed the official weigh-in on Friday at the PMI Bohol College Main Campus gymnasium to forge their 12-rounder showdown.
The 25-year-old Suganob, the pride of the PMI Bohol Boxing Stable, weighed in at 107.5 pounds, while Vicelles of Cebu’s Omega Boxing Gym tipped the scales at 108 lbs.
The winning boxer between Suganob and Vicelles will be the mandatory challenger for the IBF world light flyweight strap currently held by South African Sivenithe Nontshinga.
No less than IBF supervisor Ben Keilty will be supervising the world title eliminator which serves as the main event of PMI Boxing Promotions’ “Kumong Bol-Anon 9: Tribute to Maestro.”
“This is an important fight in the IBF light flyweight division because the winning boxer will be the mandatory world title challenger,” said Keilty during a presser after the weigh-in.
For his part, PMI Boxing Promotions’ chief Floriezyl Podot, it took them three months to negotiate and earn the rights to promote the bout.
“The negotiations took three months, but we’re already anticipating to promote this fight. We’ve been preparing not just our boxer, but our promotions to get this fight. It will be one of the biggest fights in Bohol and we’re excited to have this,” said Podot.
Joining Podot during the weigh-in and presser was PMI Colleges President Angge Brown Coloma, WBO Asia Pacific Supervisor Leon Panoncillo, and Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Richard Clarin.
Gunning for KO
Vicelles’ trainer, Julius Junco boldy predicts an eighth round knockout, while his ward remained reserve in terms of the outcome of his career’s most crucial bout.
“We’re going to win by a knockout! An eighth round knockout,” Junco confidently said.
Contrastingly, Vicelles said that he was ready for a 12-round duel instead of predicting a knockout win.
“We both trained hard for this. We’re both ready for this, and I’m confident for my training. I can’t speak more about winning a knockout. A knockout will come during the fight,” said Vicelles who has an unbeaten record of 17 wins with 10 knockouts and 1 draw.
Meanwhile, Suganob displayed sportsmanship and exudes confidence that he would emerge victorious in front of his fellow Boholanos.
“I can’t say what round the knockout will come, but I can assure everyone that I’m ready for this fight because I’ve prepared long enough for this. I know he (Vicelles) also trained hard for this fight. Expect a great fight tomorrow, and may the best man wins,” said Suganob.
Suganob and Vicelles will be fighting in a 12-rounder for the first time in their respective careers.
Their previous bouts which were scheduled for 10 rounds were nothing short of being impressive. Suganob scored a lopsided unanimous decision victory against Indonesian Andika D’ Golden Boy Ahi in Dimiao, Bohol last September.
On the other hand, Vicelles scored a first round KO against Jaycever Abcede last June in Cebu.
Both boxers have also held regional titles previously in their respective careers. Vicelles once held the WBA Asia South light flyweight title, while Suganob is the former IBF Youth light flyweight champion.
Shane Gentallan (3rd from left) and Faisol Akbar (5th from left) holds the WBO Oriental Youth minimumweight belt after passing the weigh-in on Friday in Tagbilaran City.| Glendale Rosal
Tribute to Maestro
Kumong Bol-Anon 9 pays tribute to PMI Bohol Boxing Stable’s founding trainer, Glenn Sasing, who passed away a year ago.
The fight card which features 11 professional bouts serves as a tribute to the first death anniversary of Sasing.
Besides the world title eliminator, there will also be a WBO Oriental Youth minimumweight title showdown between PMI’s Shane Gentallan against Indonesian Faisol Akbar in the co-main event.
Sasing was one of the people behind PMI’s Kumong Bol-Anon boxing series which was established in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. PMI rose to fame for promoting a series of bubble fight cards in Bohol during that time.
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