JOHN Michael Zulueta is set to defend his ASEAN Boxing Federation minimumweight title when he faces fellow Filipino fighter Mike Kinaadman on Oct. 28 at the Gaisano City mall in Bacolod City.
Zulueta, a native of Calatrava, Negros Occidental, will defend for the first time the title he won via split decision at the expense of Cris Ganoza on June 29 at the same venue.
The boxing card is part of the MassKara Festival. Its undercard match and lineup of amateur boxers has yet to be finalized as of this writing.
Zulueta was preparing hard for the match as an impressive victory will boost his rankings and possibly land him more title fights next year, said Highland Hayashi Boxing’s promoter Brico Santig.
“John Michael is taking this fight seriously. He does not mind even if his opponent is on a losing skid,” Santig said.
The 23-year-old Zulueta will parade an unblemished 8-0-2 win-loss-draw card, including three stoppage wins. This will also be his third bout this year after his wins over Bonjun Loperez and Ganoza.
On the other hand, the 22-year-old Kinaadman has a 6-7-2 win-loss-draw card, with four knockout victories. But the Iligan City native lost in all of his last five matches.
“This is boxing. Every boxer has the capability to beat each other, so John Michael is really training hard to have an impressive showing,” said Santig.
The card is brought by Highland-Guanzon Boxing Promotion in cooperation with the Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia Boxing Development Program. It is sanctioned by the Games and Amusement Board./PN
