Finally, two Filipino fighters who are both in their primes will do battle to prove which one truly deserves to be named as one of the country’s top bets for a world title.

On September 3, former WBA interim super flyweight champion Drian Francisco (20-1-1, 16 KOs) of Touch Gloves Gym will lock horns with Michael Domingo (41-15-2, 19 KOs) of the ALA stable.

I have been clamoring for a fight like this to happen for a while now largely because I’ve grown bored of matches between Filipino prospects against bums from all over the world. Since ALA fighter AJ Banal lost to Rafael Concepcion, most Filipino promoters chose to select foreign opponents who do not pose any threat to their fighters.

Sure, the fans enjoy seeing our fighters beat up these imports but the trade-off is that they do not get the challenge they need to push themselves to a higher level. What usually happens is that Filipino prospects beat up a bunch of no-hopers from all over the world, bite on the first lucrative fight they can get overseas, then lose badly to well-trained and mentally-prepared opponents.

Making Filipino prospects fight other Filipino prospects works in so many levels. First, we are assured of a good fight because both fighters have a lot to lose. Second, the results of such fights will help Filipino fight fans draw the line between contenders and pretenders.

The last match the pitted two world-class Filipino fighters against each other happened way back in 1999 and it was between Manny Pacquiao and Reynante Jamili. This was Pacquiao’s comeback fight after losing the WBC flyweight title to Medgoen Singsurat of Thailand. Jamili, on the other hand, was on a string of two knockout wins after losing to Erik Morales by technical knockout. Pacquiao defeated Jamili via second round TKO and we all know what happened next. The winner was catapulted to more marquee fights while the loser went back to the drawing board.

Francisco versus Domingo will be fun to watch because the two fighters come from two proud stables and both will suffer greatly from a loss. Francisco cannot afford to lose to Domingo right after losing his interim WBA title to Tepparith Singwancha of Thailand. A loss for Domingo will usher in the end of his time as a legitimate threat in the division. The winner of this fight will most likely get a shot at a regional title and if all goes well maybe even a world title shot early next year.

I applaud Elmer Anuran of Touch Gloves Gym and Dennis Cañete of ALA Gym for putting this fight together. It would have been easy for them to select foreign opponents to pad the records of their fighters but they chose to make a fight that is both interesting and exciting. Filipino fight fans need more fights like this and, hopefully, this entices the other Filipino promoters to match their best prospects against the top guys of other boxing stables. 

source: Carlo L. Pamintuan -GMA News