TEPORA GETS REAL TEST
After dominating career, Jhack Tepora gets first real test when he faces Mexican Emmanuel Dominguez in Tagbilaran in July
Jhack Tepora has never been threatened in his budding career.
He has been dominating fights here and there, and knocking out opponent after opponent.
The 22-year-old Cebuano southpaw, however, gets the first real test of his young career as he faces his first Mexican foe next month in the main event of Who’s Next? 5.
Tepora will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Ori- ental super bantamweight belt against World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 27 ranked super bantamweight Emmanuel Dominguez on July 7 at the Island City Mall in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
“I think I will win this. I have been training really hard,” said Tepora in yesterday’s press launch. “I believe that somebody is going to get knocked out in this fight.”
Tepora didn’t break a sweat in his last two fights, knocking out Galih Susanto in the fifth and Yon Armed in the first round.
But despite his impressive wins, Tepora isn’t taking the 23-year-old Dominguez lightly.
“I’m very confident but I’m not taking any chances. We are training harder now compared to the last time,” he said.
Tepora has every reason not to underestimate Dominguez because he is a credible opponent. Dominguez is the WBC Fecombox super bantamweight titleholder and owns a win over former interim WBO bantamweight champion Alejandro “Payasito” Hernandez.
Tepora is 20-0 with 15 knockouts, while Dominguez is 21-5-2 with 13 knockouts.
The co-main event features a much-anticipated rematch between Christian Araneta and Jessie Espinas.
“I’m very excited for our rematch but I’m a little bit nervous,” Araneta, 14-0 with 12 knockouts, said. “I will do my best to put on a show and I will do my best to knock him out.”
Araneta and Espinas first met in 2015 in Danao. Aranteta stopped Espinas in the eighth round. Much has changed since their first meeting. Araneta is now the WBO Oriental light flyweight champion and is ranked No. 8 in the WBO.
Espinas, 16-2 with 11 knockouts, also became the WBO Oriental light flyweight champion at one time and currently has lofty ratings in three of the four major boxing sanctioning bodies. He is rated fifth in both the WBO and the World Boxing Association (WBA) and ninth in the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
Jerry Castroverde, Jhaleel Payao and Kenny Demecillo are also featured in the stacked 11bout fight card.
Castroverde (10-4, 5 KOs) faces Anthony Sabalde (12-6, 7 KOs) for the vacant Philippine Boxing Federation (PBF) super featherweight belt.
Payao (15-1, 9 KOs) will try and defend his PBF bantamweight strap against tough Jestoni Autida (9-7, 4 KOs). Demecillo (12-4-2, 7 KOs) will be in a 10-rounder with Renan Portes (9-4, 5 KOs).
This is the biggest Who’s Next? show thus far and Omega Pro Sports International president Pio Paulo Castillo believes that the outcome will dictate the direction of their promotions.
I’m very confident.. We are training harder now compared to the last time JHACK TEPORA