CEBU, Philippines — Mexican champion Uriel 'Yuca' Lopez boldly predicted yesterday that it's going to be a clean 2-0 sweep by the Mexican fighters against their Filipino rivals from the ALA Boxing Gym in the 'Pinoy Pride 45: Quest for Greatness' fight card this Saturday night at the IEC Convention Center in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
Lopez (13-6, 6KOs) will try to dethrone WBO Oriental super bantamweight champion Jeo 'Santino' Santisima (16-2, 14KOs) in the main event of the mega-fight card co-presented by ALA Boxing Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports.
In a press conference at the St. Mark's Hotel, Lopez expressed his gratitude to ALA Promotions but told them that picking him up to slug it out with Santisima is a big mistake.
"I've seen his (Santisima) fights. He is strong but I am motivated to win. My advantage against him is that I am a Mexican. I am here for war and I hope he is ready for me," said Lopez, who is currently the interim WBC Latino champion.
Lopez, who is on a three-fight winning streak, also seemed to be sure of winning together with his compatriot Hugo 'Scarface' Reyes. Reyes (9-1, 7KOs) battles Pinoy rising star Kevin Jake Cataraja (8-0, 7KOs) for the WBO Youth super flyweight championship.
"No doubt, it's going to be 2-0 for Mexico," added Lopez.
Reyes, for his part, said that that they will try their best to score a knockout victory to avoid a hometown decision loss. "We dont want to leave the result in the hands of the judges. I am looking for a knockout victory."
In another featured bout, George Krampah (14-3, 12KOs) of Ghana vowed to score a huge upset victory over WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight champ 'Prince' Albert Pagara (30-1, 21KOs).
In the undercards, Arthur Villanueva faces Carlo Demecillo, Jonas Sultan lock horns with Ardin Diale, while Fil-Japanese Go Hosaka takes on Jason Tinampay. (FREEMAN)