by Ronnie Nathanielsz

World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman says that light flyweight champion Pedro Guevara who scored an explosive 1st round knockout over Asian Boxing Council champion Richard Claveras last Saturday, will defend his title against hard-hitting Filipino Jonathan Taconing “soon.”

In an overseas telephone conversation with the New Standard/BoxingScene.com, Sulainan described the southpaw Taconing who is managed by Johnny Elorde as “a very good fighter” and predicted he will become a champion in the future.

Taconing, the reigning OPBF champion was No. 3 in the last WBC ratings and has a record of 21-2-1 with 18 knockouts following his 10th round TKO victory last April 4 over former world champion Ramon Garcia Hirales when referee Gelasio Perez Huerta stopped the scheduled ten round bout at 2:53 of the final round.

In the meantime Sulaiman sought to play down the claims that Claveras who was recommended as challenger to Guevara didn’t deserve the title shot even as a WBC report on the fight said Claveras had “looked good in the first minute when he landed his strong left uppercut and straight right but the unruffled Guevara clearly waited for his opportunity and his patience paid off.”

The WBC said “in a perfectly placed pile-driver left hook to the liver, Guievara scored an explosive 1st round KO” in a ounchg that was “an almost exact duplicate of the blow that demolished Japan’s Akira Yaegeshi in the 7th round in Tokyo last December 30 when he won the vacant title.

Mexican fight fans were impressed with the punching power of Guevara who had trained at the Otomi High Altitude Center in the mountains of Toluca alongside super flyweight champion Carlos Cuadras and “looked mighty sharp” against Claveras who was accompanied by the Games and Amusements Board boxing division chief Dr. Nasser Cruz.