Two big bouts are on tap Friday night in the boxing hotbed of Cebu City.
In the main event, Christian Araneta and Arvin Magramo face off for the right to become the next challenger for Mexican Adrian Curiel’s world title.
To spice things up, Froilan Saludar makes the first defense of the Orient-Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight throne against Japanese Keita Kurihara, whom the Filipino knocked out in the first round last year to win the OPBF 118-lb belt in Tokyo.
Araneta is favored to get past Magramo but the matchup is an exciting one given the two fighters’ huge knockout percentage.
While Araneta remained to downplay his chances, Magramo, representing the Elorde Boxing Stable, swore he didn’t travel to the Queen City to be used as cannon fodder.
“We didn’t come here to lose. I can’t say if I will win by knockout, but I know that I am the one who’s going to win,” Magramo said.
The Saludar-Kurihara battle is not to be missed.
Saludar’s performance was so stunning that the Japanese didn’t mind flying to the Philippines to get the chance to prove that his last fight was a freak accident.
In another clash of power-punchers, Saludar should hold the slight edge given his impressive stoppage win over Kurihara aside from the fact that he will be fighting on home soil.
