Filipino knockout artist Reymart Gaballo and Puerto Rican boxer Emmanuel Rodriguez will fight for the interim World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight title today, Dec. 20, 2020 (Philippine time), at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Gaballo (23-0, 20 KOs) and Rodriguez (19-1, 12 KOs) were supposed to face different opponents on the same date and venue, with the former initially set to fight Jose Velasquez of Chile and the latter against another Filipino, Nonito Donaire Jr.
However, Donaire was forced to withdraw from the fight after initially testing positive for Covid-19.
The Filipino Flash yielded negative result in the confirmatory tests and asked for his fight against Rodriguez to push through, but the WBC refused.
The WBC instead decided to pit Rodriguez against Gaballo.
“When they said I could be the replacement for Nonito Donaire, I did not hesitate to say yes, said Gaballo, adding, “Rodriguez is a good fighter and this is a good fight for us.”
Gaballo, 24, sees his fight against Rodriguez as a chance to join the ranks of elite boxers Donaire, Naoya Inoue and John Riel Casimero.
“I want to be considered as one of the best. You have Naoya Inoue, Nonito Donaire and John Riel Casimero. Those are the guys I envision fighting in the future. I’m excited to be included in that group of names.”
Rodriguez, meanwhile, considers Donaire as a tougher opponent than Gaballo, but added the replacement is no pushover.
“It’s easier to connect on him (Gaballo). He is probably a little more aggressive than Nonito and his defense isn’t as good. I think Nonito would have been a tougher fight than Gaballo, but I am not taking this fight lightly.”