One of the country's talented junior featherweights, the undefeated Reynaldo Belandres, takes his first crack at a national championship title when he goes up against the veteran Jun Eraham for the Philippine Boxing Federation (PBF) title Oct. 11 in Davao City.
Belandres, 21, a native of Dalapitan, Matalam, North Cotabato and a former member of the Philippine National Amateur Boxing Pool, holds an unblemished record of 9 wins with 7 knockouts in a young boxing career that started only a little over a year ago.
Eraham, 25, a tough veteran of many fights has a record of 8 wins against 15 losses and 2 draws and is considered by local boxing experts as a spoiler who relies on his vast experience inside the ring in his many difficult fights.
Belandres, however, has the distinct advantage of having sound boxing fundamentals which were polished by former Cotabato amateur boxing coach Honorato Espinosa of Cuba who stayed in the province for over one year.
While the PBF may not be as prestigious as the regular Philippine championship recognized by the Games and Amusements Board, it is nevertheless an important fight for the young Belandres.
"This is a coming out fight for Reynaldo Belandres," said his manager, North Cotabato Vice Governor Manny Pinol who has handled Belandres even during his days as an amateur fighter.
Vice Governor Pinol said a victory over Eraham could open the door for a possible championship fight against either Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista or Ciso "El Terible" Morales, who is also undefeated in his pro career.
"We're initially looking at these two top Filipino fighters to test the mettle of Reynaldo before we bring him the US for the big fights," he said.
Vice Gov. Pinol, however, said that the dreamed fight of Belandres against Bautista or Morales could only happen if the handlers of the two Cebu-based boxers would accept the challenge for either of them to defend their WBO titles against the North Cotabato fighter.
The Belandres-Eraham title fight is one of the main undercard of the World Boxing Council (WBC) superbantamweight International Championship between defending champion Sandy Otieno of Kenya and Davao City's Balweg Bangoyan.
The Otieno-Bangoyan championship bout, to be held at the RMC Gym in Davao City, will be aired on a delayed basis over NBN Channel 4 and is promoted by Jose Abad Santos, Davao del Sur Mayor Zander Khan.
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