Gaballo faces Mexican in Tapales-Jankaew co-main event
Reymart Gaballo. | Facebook photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former interim world champion Reymart “Assassin” Gaballo will fight for the second time this year on May 10 in Manila.
Gaballo, the former World Boxing Council (WBC) interim world bantamweight champion, will serve as the co-main event protagonist in the Marlon Tapales-Nattapong Jankaew WBC regional title bout at the Midas Hotel and Casino in Manila.
He will face Mexican Kenbun Torres in a 10-round non-title bout.
To recall, the 27-year-old Gaballo, one of the Philippines’ top prospects, won over Thai Phai Pharob via a first-round knockout on February 13 at the same venue.
Gaballo won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Oriental bantamweight title in the process.
He now has 27 wins with 22 knockouts and one defeat. His lone defeat came in 2021 when he fought countryman and four-division world champion Nonito Donaire in the latter’s title defense in Carson City, California.
Gaballo suffered a fourth-round knockout at the hands of Donaire that stained his once unbeaten pro career.
After that, Gaballo bounced back strong by winning two regional titles in the WBC Asian Continental and WBO Oriental bantamweight divisions against another Filipino, Ricardo Sueno, via split decision in Manila.
Torres, 36, is a veteran of 18 bouts. He has 13 wins with nine knockouts and five defeats on his resume.
He is fresh from a majority decision win against Chinese fighter Chengcheng Yang on January 27 in Vung Tau, Vietnam, snapping his three-fight losing streak.
Torres, from Guanajuato, Mexico, is a road warrior who has fought mostly in Japan and Vietnam.
Gaballo will be his first Filipino opponent and his first time fighting in the Philippines.
This will likely serve as Gaballo’s tune-up bout for an inevitable world title bout against the reigning WBO bantamweight world champion, Jason Moloney of Australia.
Gaballo is currently ranked No. 1 in the WBO bantamweight division, making him the top contender for Moloney’s title.
The main event features Tapales and Jankaew for the WBC Asian Continental super bantamweight title.
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