Road warrior Cuello: Iloilo now, then the world

Strawweight contender Denver Cuello has earned his reputation as a road warrior. The 25-year-old known as "The Excitement" has fought all over the Philippines. He has taken his show on the road, winning his two most recent bouts by knockout (KO) in Mexico. In the bout prior to that, Cuello knocked out Omar Soto—who had held several current and former world champions to close decisions—in just two rounds in Hawaii. He even went to Tahiland's forbidding terrain and walked out with a decision win over hometown bet Rusalee Samor.

 

But in his entire seven-year-career, Cuello had never fought in his home province of Iloilo. Until this weekend.

 

Cuello (29-4-6, 19 KOs) will make his long-awaited hometown debut on Saturday, March 10 at the Jaro Plaza Gym in Iloilo City against Indonesian Kid Suryana (8-1, 4 KOs). At Friday's weigh-in, Cuello checked in at 107 pounds, while Suryana was a pound lighter at 106.

 

Should all go according to plan, Cuello could finally get the world title opportunity he has long hoped for—and deserved.

Cuello's manager Aljoe Jaro, speaking from his gymnasium in Rizal, says that the plan is to stage a World Boxing Council (WBC) elimination bout against Mexican contender Ganigan Lopez (rated number one) in the Philippines. Jaro won the rights to dictate the promotion of the bout when he outbid Lopez's promoter Boxeo de Gala by the margin of just $900 USD—or $61,000 to $60,100.

Jaro says he is targeting May 12 for the Cuello-Lopez bout.

 

Should Cuello get past Lopez, the prize at the end of the road is a clash with WBC 105-lb champ Kazuto Ioka of Japan, who boasts an unblemished if lean record of 9-0 (6 KOs). Jaro, who also promotes the newly crowned WBC and RING flyweight champion Sonny Boy Jaro, isn't so sure that the 22-year-old Japanese fighter is keen on making the bout happen.

 

"I heard from Japan that Ioka will move to 108 because he doesn't want to fight Denver," said Jaro.

 

Cuello's opponent on Saturday Suryana is two years younger than Cuello and like Ioka has less than 10 fights. "El Chivato" as he's known, doesn't possess the same kind of pedigree, having faced debuting opponents in five of his nine fights, according to Boxrec.com's records, and has never fought more than eight rounds. Saturday's bout is scheduled for 10.

 

Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News and the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He is also a member of The Ring ratings panel. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.