January 29, 2004
CEBU, PHILIPPINES-A press conference and a weigh-in ceremony for tomorrow’s double OPBF title event took place on Thursday afternoon at the Ching Palace in Cebu, Philippines. Seungwon Baek, a 20-year-old prospect from Korea, baldly predicted his KO win over WBC#2/WBA#2 ranked OPBF 130-pound champ Randy Suico. “I’ll knock him out within three rounds to bring the championship belt to Korea.” It may mean that Baek will show a blitzkrieg to dethrone the highly regarded Suico, who responded smilingly, “I’ll be so careful that I will try to outbox him in early rounds.” Suico weighed in at 129.5 pounds to 129 for Baek. Also, the OPBF 122-pound champ Pedrito Laurente tipped the beam at 121 pounds, while the OPBF top ranked national champ Jimrex Jaca, after jogging under the sun, barely made the class limit of 122. The hard-hitting southpaw Jaca previously beat the defending champ on points last year, but Laurente said, “I’ll revenge my defeat and defend my belt.” Many prominent boxing people from Manila will gather at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City tomorrow.
(1-29-04)