Pinoy boxer Lunas makes ring return in May

MANILA, Philippines – After nearly two years of absence in the boxing ring, Filipino fighter Rolly Lunas will make his return to the squared-circle by facing undefeated Mexican-American boxer Manuel Avila on May 7 (May 8 in Manila).

The scheduled ten-round junior featherweight bout is set to take place at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles, California and serves as Golden Boy Promotions’ main event on its “L.A. Fight Club” card that will be aired on FOX Sports 1 in the United States and FOX Sports Deportes in Mexico.

Lunas (34-9-1, 20 knockouts) was last seen in action in November 2013 when he was defeated by Chris Avalos via third-round stoppage, snapping his seven-fight winning streak.

The 31-year-old Pinoy pugilist from Tabaco City, Albay made a name for himself in 2007 as part of the Japanese boxing scene, where he fought under the alias of Rolly Matsushita and captured the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) bantamweight belt against compatriot Malcolm Tunacao via technical majority decision.

Following his 4 successful defenses of the OPBF title, Lunas earned the right to challenge Anselmo Moreno for the World Boxing Association bantamweight strap in October 2008, but he yielded to the Panamanian southpaw by unanimous decision.

Lunas bounced back from the disappointing defeat by bagging the well-regarded regional boxing organization’s junior featherweight prize versus Wethya Sakmuangklang in January 2009 before reclaiming the OPBF bantamweight title with an eight-round knockout of Jerope Mercado two years later.

The 5-foot-5 Lunas relocated to San Diego, California in 2013 and is now training under the tutelage of Vince Parra, who is the former trainer and manager of Mercito Gesta.

On the other hand, Avila (16-0, 7 KOs) has knocked out three of his last four opponents, including one-time world title challenger David De La Mora in May 2014. – Rappler.com