Roberto Gonzalez and Arjan Canillas face the media after the weigh in at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. Both fight for the vacant Philippine lightweight title tonight at the Ynarez Sports Arena. (INQUIRER)
ALA Boxing Gym’s rising prospects Arjan “Spartan” Canillas and Jimmy “Popeye” Paypa plunge into action today as they face separate foes at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The 22-year-old Cebuano Canillas, who sports a record of 13-0-2, (win-loss-draw) with 10 knockouts, faces Roberto Gonzales (26-2-0, 16KOs) of Romblon for the vacant Philippine lightweight title while Paypa (17-3-1, 6 KOs) takes on reigning WBO oriental super bantamweight champion and former world title challenger Bernabe “The Real Deal” Concepcion (34-6-2, 20 KOs).
ALA Boxing gym chief trainer Edito Villamor said he is confident his wards can pull off victories but still reminded them to stay focused come fight night.
“They must not be complacent and reckless because we know how dangerous and how strong their opponents are,” Villamor said.
He also said Canillas should be careful of Gonzales, who has won all of his six previous bouts, five by knockouts. “Gonzales has a knockout power but Canillas is wiser,” Villamor said. “It’s going to be a tough and entertaining fight when you will see these two boxers step inside the ring.”
With regards to Paypa, Villamor said the fight against Concepcion is very important.
“Paypa has to take advantage of it and give everything he’s got to win the title because this fight for them is very important. This fight will dictate Canillas’ and Paypa’s career in boxing,” added Villamor.
Canillas has won his last five bouts while Paypa recently won over journeyman Jason Egera in Tuburan, Cebu last December following his loss to Shingo Wake of Japan in February 2015 for the OPBF Super bantamweight title.
“I am confident that they will both win because of the training they had here in Cebu. For me, only the toughest boxer will be left standing.”
Both ALA boxers made weight yesterday at the Edsa Shangri-la Hotel with Canillas tipping the scales at 132 pounds and Paypa coming in at 122 pounds.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
