Former national amateur boxer Rolando Magbanua takes the big break of his young career when he meets the veteran Ratanachai Sor Vorapin in a 10-round non-title bout in Cebu City Nov. 30.
The fight, staged by Cebu City promoter Sammy Gelloani, is part of Vorapin's comeback following a knockout loss suffered in the hands of Michael Domingo in his defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Oriental bantamweight title earlier this year.
But while the Thai former world superbantamweight champion holds a distinct advantage because of his vast experience with almost 80 professional fights, at 31, he will be 8 years older than the righthanded Magbanua who hails from Pigcawayan town in North Cotabato and one of the promising boxers of the Braveheart Boxing Club owned by Vice Gov. Manny Pinol.
Magbanua, who holds the monicker "Smooth Operator" because of his fluid boxing style fine-tuned by Cuban coach Honorato Espinosa, stands 5' 5" and holds a clean record of 11 wins in 11 pro fights with 7 knockouts.
In his last fight, it took Magbanua only a 1:30 minutes in the first round to dispose of Thai Petchamchai Sithsoei pummelling the foreign fighter with tremendous body punches before connecting with a crisp uppercut that sent the latter crashing through the ropes.
The fight with Vorapin will be Magbanua's biggest bout since turning pro three years ago. He recently dropped out of college to concentrate on his boxing career.
The fight with Vorapin was initially offered by Gelloani to jr. featherweight Reynaldo Belandres (9 wins, 7 KOs, 1 draw) but he could not go down to 120 lbs. which is the weight limit Vorapin would like to fight in.
Belandres, 23, a legitimate jr. featherweight called "Boy of Steel," is also set to appear in another bout in the undercard of the Vorapin-Magbanua bout.
Belandres' last fight against veteran Jun Eraham for the Phil. Boxing Federation (PBF) jr. featherweight title ended in a draw after he suffered a cut in the 4th round.
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