IBF world title eliminator at Cebu Coliseum set

Sports

SPORTSMAN Lorenzo “Chao” Sy is mounting an explosive boxing card at the Cebu Coliseum.

Recently named the Rico Navarro Sportsman of the Year by the Sportswriters Association of Cebu–San Miguel Brewery Cebu Sports Awards, the veteran boxing promoter Sy announced that Ian Abne of the Cebu City-based ARQ Boxing Stable will slug it out with China’s Dianxing Zhu in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight world title eliminator.

Sy said the Abne-Zhu duel will serve as the main event in a card that will be held in May.

ARQ’s strength and conditioning trainer Roger Justine Potot diclosed that contracts for the upcoming title eliminator have been signed.

Winner of the eliminator will become the mandatory challenger for the IBF minimumweight title, which is currently being held by Pedro Taduran, one only two active Filipino world boxing champions.

Taduran is set to defend the belt against Mexican challenger Gusto Perez Alvarez on April 3.

Sy added that he already had an initial talk with Cebu Coliseum owner Augusto W. Go to finalize the use of the newly refurbished venue for the event.

Zhe and Abne are No. 3 and No. 4 in the IBF minimumweight rankings, respectively.

The 26-year-old Abne, the former Philippine Boxing Federation minimumweight champion, still has to lose with 12 wins, including four knockouts, and two draws.

A former World Boxing Organization Global minimumweight champion, Zhu has 16 wins, 14 by KO, with only one defeat. The Chinese slugger has beaten some Filipino opponents, including Shane Gentallan, Richard Garde, Marco John Rementizo, Jerry Francisco, and John Kevin Jimenez.(CCM)