Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista looks to book a rematch with tormentor Heriberto Ruiz in 2011, hoping to avenge his unanimous decision loss to the Mexican fighter that led to an injury, thus sidelining the former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Inter-Continental super bantamweight champion for a year. ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer said Bautista, who holds a 30-2-0 win-loss-draw record with 23 knockouts, is training for a June 11 fight that will hopefully pit him against Ruiz, who defeated Bautista in their eight-round bout on November 22, 2008 in Las Vegas.
Bautista injured his left wrist in that bout and needed to undergo surgery. Doctors took a piece of bone from his hip to repair the fracture in his wrist.
"He is happy and he is good as new. We are hoping for a rematch against Ruiz. If not on June 11, we hope to do it ate in the year," Aldeguer said.
Bautista returned to the ring on October 16, 2009 and scored a seventh-round technical knockout win against Indonesian Marangin Marbun to clinch the interim World Boxing Council (WBC) International featherweight title.
The 24-year-ol Bautista won three other fights by KO after that, with two of his wins against Mexican Alejandro Barrera. His latest win was a third-round KO of Barrera on January 29, 2001 in a scheduled 10-rounder in Cebu City.
He beat Thai Saichon Sotornpitak of Thailand via a sixth-round TKO knockout in United Arab Emirates.
Aldeguer also said that they are still awaiting word from the International Boxing Federation (IBF) for a fight for another ALA boxer, Milan Melindo.
The Cebuano native is coming off a first-round knockout win over Rosendo Vega last March 19 that propelled him as the number one contender for the IBF flyweight title currently held by Moruti Mthalane of South Africa.
Reuben Terrado, GMA News TV
