REY BAUTISTA

updated August 14, 2007

Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista may only be 20 years old, but the native of Candijay has already established himself as one of the most dangerous 122-pounders in boxing. The WBO Intercontinental and WBO Youth super bantamweight champion, Bautista has shown an ability to not only take out his opponents with either hand, but to also box effectively over the 12 round championship distance, something few young fighters can pull off successfully.

It's obvious that Bautista learned his lessons well as an amateur boxer, winning a Gold medal in the 2002 National Youth Open in Cebu City, and being awarded the Best Boxer award in the Amateur championships back home.

In June of 2003, just a week before his 17th birthday, Rey turned pro with a shutout six round decision win over Reyco Compendio, and he quickly began piling up the wins and knockouts.

With only eight fights to his credit, 'Boom-Boom' embarked on three international fights in three different countries consecutively, knocking out Hengky Wuwungan in the third round in Jakarta, Indonesia, decisioning Huyjong Kim in Uijongbu City, South Korea, and knocking out Hirokatsu Yamasaki in the second round in Osaka, Japan.

In his next bout, on August 17, 2004, Bautista won the vacant WBO Asia-Pacific bantamweight crown last against Saensak Singmanassak of Thailand via a second round knockout. This was the first WBO title fight ever fought in the Philippines.

Rey successfully defended his title twice, decisioning Vuyisile Bebe, and stopping Obote Ameme in the second round, and on December 23, 2005 he scored a hard fought eight round decision over Gerardo Espinoza in El Cajon, California. Espinoza was a world class fighter, having previously fought undefeated highly ranked Jose Miguel Aguiniga, former world champions Mauricio Martinez and Cruz Carvajal and current world champion Rafael Marquez.

In 2006, Bautsita made a big splash on the world scene knocking out Roberto Bonilla in just three rounds at Staples Center in Los Angeles in May, and taking out 61 fight veteran and former world title challenger Giovanni Andrade in just four rounds at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.

And though his run as a pro has been successful thus far, Bautista, who is now ranked number one in the world by the WBO, believes that 2007 will be his biggest year yet, and he got it off to a rousing start with a third round knockout of Marino Gonzalez on February 24th and a hard-fought 12 round decision win over Sergio Manuel Medina on May 5th.

On August 11th, Bautista challenges for his first world title against highly regarded WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon.