Batawang likes his chances vs Solis in title showdown

By Recah Trinidad Inquirer LOS ANGELES, California--Assured of a crack at a world crown, tireless Bert Batawang took a glimpse at his would-be opponent on a borrowed laptop computer and was pleasantly jolted at what he saw: there was nothing truly superior or extraordinary in the fighting style of IBF light flyweight champion Ulises Solis of Mexico. Batawang, 35, had actually expected to see a sharper, more menacing Solis who last Aug. 4 stopped Rodel Mayol of the Philippines in a title bout in Chicago. “Malaki tsansa (We have a big chance),” Batawang bared after a lunch of steaming Thai chicken noodle soup following another tough grind that saw him through a punishing 20-round regimen at the Wild Card gym here. Batawang’s original Sept. 16 championship fight with Solis was postponed indefinitely after the Mexican injured his shoulder. But the IBF, upon hearing the title crack was being offered to another fighter, declared Batawang mandatory challenger and ordered Solis to defend against the veteran Filipino campaigner before Oct. 25. It was not an exactly soft and shallow champion they saw on the YouTube feed, but there definitely was no depth displayed, according to Jeremiah Quijano, Batawang’s soft-spoken trainer. Quijano said Solis fought “like an amateur” who often punched and pushed. Of course, the boxer-trainer tandem agreed they have got to watch the short, sneaky right hook that toppled and stopped Mayol in the eighth round. Batawang, finding no available sparmates, worked with the heavy bag and the mitts to sharpen his punches based on what they saw on video. He returns to the Tracy Wireless store off Vermont Ave. to view more Solis fights and plot better defense. “They can go tell him to fight tomorrow and he’d be ready,” trainer Quijano declared in Filipino.