ALA Boxing Gym’s rising prospects “Prince” Albert Pagara, Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo and Kevin Jake “KJ” Cataraja started their grueling training camp as they prepare for their upcoming bouts in the 35th edition of the famed Pinoy Pride Series dubbed “Stars of the Future” set this Febuary 27 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
Trained by veteran trainer and former world title challenger Edito “ALA” Villamor at their headquarters in barangay Talamban, Cebu City, the three young guns are set to undergo tough training in order to brighten their chances of coming up with impressive victories in front of Cebuano boxing fans.
Pagara’s opponent was supposed to be Juan Carlos Sanchez of Mexico but the latter backed out due to contract problems with ALA Promotions International. Magsayo will face Mexican Eduardo Montoya in the co-main event.
Montoya sports a record of 17 wins with 13 knockouts along with four losses and a single draw.
Cataraja is rumored to face an Asian opponent in the special feature of the fight card.
DEFENSE NEEDED
According to Villamor, they are already planning for the much preferred training regiment for the three young boxers who have their own different styles inside the ring.
“They are doing fine in training and we’ve prepared a program for the three of them so that they can pull off impressive wins,” Villamor said.
Pagara’s virtuoso boxing skills is far from perfect, according to Villamor. The 21-year-old Maasin City native, who is the current WBO Youth Inter-continental and IBF inter-continental super bantamweight champion, has a lot of room for improvement, particularly with his defense.
“His defense must improve because he is too complacent at times and we can’t predict who gets hit first when they’re already inside the ring,” said Villamor.
Other than that, Pagara, according to Villamor, is a great boxer and proof of that is his unbeaten record of 25 wins with 18 by knockouts.
Meanwhile, Villamor said IBF Youth featherweight champion Magsayo (12-0, 10KOs) of Bohol and Cebuano Cataraja (2-0, 2KOs) need more sparring sessions to further develop their confidence and timing.
“They have the talent but they have to develop their skills because this is the professional division. They have to do more sparring sessions in their training,” Villamor said.
According to Villamor, his prized wards are already in the more difficult level of training. He said the three boxers have already done eight-rounder sparring sessions in the past week.