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Two
upcoming junior featherweights from the Braveheart Boxing
Club of North Cotabato have called out on undefeated World
Boxing Organization (WBO) Oriental junior featherweight champion
Ciso Morales to defend his title against either of them in
August.
Braveheart
owner Manny Pinol, also the vice governor of North Cotabato,
said Reynaldo Belandres (7 wins, 5 KOs) or Rolando Magbanua
(7 wins, 5 KOs) could be pitted against Morales, the Boholano
fighter who holds an impressive record of 11 wins with 7 KOs.
The
offer for Morales to defend his WBO title in North Cotabato
was relayed by Pinol to Morales managers through boxing writer
Salven Lagumbay of Cebu City.
"This
could be a very exciting fight between two undefeated boxers
and a fitting gift to my townmates in M'lang who will be marking
our town's anniversary in the first week of August,"
Pinol said.
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Morales
won his title with a points victory over Indonesia's
Marangin Marbun in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, last February.
He
defended his crown by knocking out South Korea's Kim
Yoo-shin in the fifth round in the undercard of the
Gerry Penalosa-Ratanachai Sor Vorapin title fight at
the Araneta Coliseum on April 6.
Belandres
and Magbanua are former amateur pugs who were members
of the national training pool. Their boxing skills were
polished by Cuban national coach Honorato Espinosa who
stayed in North Cotabato for over a year.
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Both
fighters are expected to be signed up by Bob Arum's Top Rank.
They
are among a dozen of young professional boxers from North
Cotabato, products of an extensive grassroots boxing development
program started by Pinol in 1998, when he became governor.
Pinol
said an offer for Morales to defend his WBO title will be
sent soon to WBO Asia Pacific vice president Leon Panoncillo.
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