Gaballo squares off with “Baby Pacquiao” for WBA belt

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Filipino rising star Reymart Gaballo will finally have a crack at the World Boxing Association interim bantamweight title against Dominican Republic’s Juan Carlos “Baby Pacquiao” Payano.

The Filipino slugger will share the ring with one of the most highly-touted fighters of 2019 on August 1, 2020 (August 2, Sunday, Philippine time).

Sanman Promotions president JC Manangquil said that this is the final stage for Gaballo to assess if he is really ready for the biggest stage.

“This fight will be Gaballo’s measuring stick. It will determine how far he can go,” said Manangquil.

Gaballo will look to continue his dominant streak after stopping his last four opponents and now holds an outstanding record of 23 wins, 0 losses, and 20 knockouts.

Meanwhile, his opponent, who was tagged as Dominican Republic’s “Baby Pacquaio” because of his speed and explosiveness, will badly need the win to stay relevant in the bantamweight division.

Payano is now training hard and will eye a shot at redemption after falling to Luis Nery in the ninth round during his last clash.

Aside from the devastating loss to Nery, Payano also succumbed at the hands of Naoya Inoue in just 70 seconds.