Freddie warns Ana to watch counters

MANILA, Philippines - WBO women’s superbantamweight champion Ana (Hurricane) Julaton isn’t taking challenger Franchesca (The Chosen One) Alcanter lightly and no less than her trainer Freddie Roach has warned the Fil-Am fighter to be wary of her opponent.

Julaton, 30, stakes her 122-pound title against Alcanter at the Craneway Pavilion, Port Richmond, California, on Friday (Saturday morning, Manila). She won the vacant crown on a split 10-round decision over Mexico’s Maria Elena Villalobos in Ontario last June and has a record of 7-2-1, with one KO. Alcanter, 36, is a Hispanic veteran who’s coming down in weight for the chance to ascend the throne.

“Freddie was telling me that Alcanter is bigger and stronger,” said Julaton in a message to The Star. “She has a good right hand and I have to be careful about getting hit with her counters. Freddie is constantly showing me new moves and reminding me about a lot of the ones I’ve learned from him since 2007. Freddie knows me very well as he has cornered eight of my 10 professional fights. When he sees me getting tired, he starts yelling, ‘hit like you mean it’ or ‘put something behind those jabs, don’t let him bully you.’ All I’m thinking is to make sure he is happy with my performance and I’m doing my best to represent him as one of his world champions.”

Roach hasn’t eased the pressure off Julaton and assigned former WBC lightflyweight champion Rodel Mayol to be her chief sparring partner.

“Rodel is a very experienced fighter,” noted Julaton. “It’s like playing chess with him in there and right now, he weighs about 120 pounds of muscle because he’s also getting ready for a possible fight. I’m learning how to react quickly both in offense and defense. Rodel never lets up on me so when he sees that I may be getting tired, he attacks consistently, forcing me to have better defense.”

For Julaton, it’s been hard work at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles and Roach wouldn’t have it any other way.

Julaton’s manager Angelo Reyes said it’s a must-win fight for the champion because bouts are now being lined up in April in Manila and July in Canada. Former Canadian airline executive Allen Tremblay of Orion Sports Management recently gave up his rights to Steve Molitor to concentrate on Julaton.

“I believe Ana is very focused right now,” said Reyes. “She knows that this is a big fight for her and TV-5 making her the face of their Aksyon Sports Channel 41, she understands that a lot of people are counting on her to win. She has had wars her last six previous fights and experts feel this will also be a war. I think Ana with her two-a-day workouts at the Wild Card Gym has little time to be nervous. She’s just very exhausted before we head to the gym and after she leaves but what is interesting is as soon as she walks through those doors and sees Freddie and all her supporters and friends at the Wild Card, her eyes light up and she’s like a kid in a candy store waiting to learn even more and soak up the atmosphere of the legendary gym.”

Julaton said there is tremendous interest in the fight as fans always expect fireworks whenever a Filipino enters the ring.

“The fans both in the Bay Area and Southern California have been very supportive,” she said. “I constantly receive positive encouragement on my facebook and twitter. The other day, I was at the Kodak Theater and a Filipino family with their little four-year-old daughter stopped me and said, ‘We are all rooting and praying for you, Ana – I hope our daughter sees your fight once day.” At the Manny Pacquiao-Sugar Shane Mosley press conference, I was constantly surrounded with positive energy and well wishers. I don’t know yet who will be there in terms of celebrities but to me, having my family and friends get the opportunity to watch me defend my title is all the ‘celebrities’ I need. They weren’t able to come to my fight in Canada so I will make sure to put on a show for them. My mom especially gets very excited when she watches my live fights. She’s always shouting ‘get her’ or ‘watch out’ and I can hear her during my fights.”

Julaton said she hopes to someday unify the superbantamweight championship. The WBA titleholder is Lisa Brown and the WBC ruler is Marcela Acuna of Argentina. But at the moment, her focus is Alcanter, a mixed martial arts practitioner with a record of 20-9-1, including 11 KOs.

Although Alcanter has the edge in experience, Julaton said she’s confident of her skills. Alcanter used to work out at the Wild Card Gym and Roach knows her capabilities. “Freddie thinks I’ve got what it takes to beat Alcanter,” said Julaton. “I’ll take his word for it.”