MANILA – Negrense boxer John Michael Zulueta is putting his Asian Boxing Federation (ABF) light flyweight belt on the line. He faces Indonesian boxer Silem Serang today at the SpacePlus Night Club, RCA Plaza, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Zulueta, who is currently in the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation world rankings, is determined to score a victory against Serang for an opportunity to fight for a world title in the future.
“I am really determined to win,” Zulueta said. “I was told that I could get a chance to fight for the world title if I beat Silem and a defeat could be a huge drop for my current world rankings.”
This will be the Calatrava, Negros Occidental-native Zulueta’s second defense of the championship he captured when he defeated Thai Sittichai Nimnual last September 28, 2022.
Zulueta’s first defense of the 108 pound ABF championship was last November 30, 2022 against Thailand’s Suriya Kraimanee but the 10-round championsip clash ended in a split draw.
The 27-year-old Zulueta, also a former champion in the minimumweight division, will be entering the match with an untarnished slate of 14-0-2 win-loss-draw, with seven victories by way of knockouts.
The 33-year-old Serang, on the other hand, has 19-25-3 win-loss-draw ring record, including two stoppage wins. The Indonesian fighter, however, lost his last two matches last year.
Aside from Zulueta, fellow Filipino Ador Torres is also defending his ABF welterweight championship in the co-main event of the fight card presented by Brico Santig of Highland Boxing Promotions.
The Sorsogon-native Torres (7-4-1, 4 KO’s) will clash with Thailand’s unbeaten 147-pounder former muay thai fighter Phiraphong Phuitthoeng, who won his two career matches via knockouts.
In the undercard, Filipino-American JV Tuazon (3-4-2, 2 KO’s) also aims to continue his winning run as he battles veteran Indonesian fighter Jack Amisa, who is making a return from almost a year of boxing inactivity./PN
