John Vincent Moralde faces a tough test in Las Vegas, while fellow Filipino fighters Mark Bernaldez and Jameson Bacon are expected to prevail in Miami on Saturday, October 16 (Sunday, October 17, Manila time).
Fully recovered from a bout with the coronavirus, Moralde will tangle with Mexican Jose Enrique Vivas in a catchweight tussle at 128 pounds in the undercard of the much-awaited Vasyl Lomachenko-Teofimo Lopez encounter at the MGM Grand.
Though they both dropped their last bouts, Bernaldez and Bacon have been installed as favorites over Argentines Julian Aristule and Gonzalo Carlos Dallera, respectively, at the Manuel Artime Theater.
Moralde, whose bout with Mexican Alexis del Basque on July 16 got scrapped after he contracted the coronavirus, checked in at 127 pounds during the official weigh-in on Friday, while Vivas came in at the exact catchweight of 128 pounds.
Based on their records, both Moralde (23-3, 13 knockouts) and Vivas (19-1, 10 KOs) are capable of stopping each other, with the Filipino having knocked out his last two.
Dominated by unbeaten Albert Bell in his last fight, Bernaldez (20-4, 14 KOs) is raring to bounce back against 37-year-old journeyman Aristule (34-13), who has dropped his last 4 fights.
Bernaldez tipped the scales at 128.6 pounds, while Aristule posted 130.4 for their super featherweight encounter.
Like Bernaldez, Bacon (23-4, 15 KOs) also came in light at 145 pounds for his welterweight bout with Dallera (6-8), who was on the dot at 147.
Cuban trainer Moro Fernandez will man the corner for Bernaldez and Bacon, who are under the banner of Sanman Promotions like Moralde.
Tapped by Sanman head JC Manangquil to take charge of Moralde are Franco Chocano and Ramon Falgui.
"I'm hoping all of them would win. They trained hard and deserve a break," said Manangquil, who is hoping to send back his fighters home in time for the Christmas season. – Rappler.com