Francisco to obtain Cazares' WBA 115 belt

World Boxing Association (WBA) interim super flyweight champion Drian Francisco is set to obtain Hugo Cazares’ world title when the Mexican champion gives up his 115-pound belt. This was according to Elmer Anuran, Francisco’s manager, who said that Cazares is moving up to the bantamweight division and will relinquish his super flyweight title, since the Mexican knows that Francisco would have been a very tough fight for him.

"It looks like Cazares is evading Drian. Our friends from the WBA have told us that Cazares will relinquish his title and move up to the bantamweight division," he said. “There’s nothing on paper yet, but they’ve told us that Drian can be named as the WBA’s world super flyweight champion as early as next week." Francisco, who remains undefeated after 20 fights with 16 by way of knockout and has one draw, was hoping to challenge Cazares for his WBA 115-title, but the Mexican champion opted to try his luck in the bantamweight division. Both fighters are coming off victories against separate opponents last year. Francisco pulled off a 10th round knockout win over Duangpetch Kokietgym of Thailand, while Cazares scored a unanimous decision over Hiroyuki Hisataka of Japan. “It’s an unfortunate turn of events because Drian was looking forward to facing Cazares, but the silver lining is that Drian will be promoted from an interim champion to a regular world champion," Anuran added Break through Francisco is one of the top boxing prospects in the Philippines. His unorthodox style may not be a joy to watch for boxing purists, but he makes up for his technical deficiencies with excitement. He has power in both hands and his all-out style is fan-friendly. At 28, most fighters have already reached the peak of their careers, but things are just starting for Francisco, who was born in Sablayan, Mindoro Occidental but now resides in Agoncillo, Batangas. Francisco started boxing after finishing a four-year college degree from San Sebastian College. He is hoping to get more big fights since he knows that he’s not young any more like other rising boxers. Looking forward Anuran said that he has no choice but to look for another suitable opponent for Francisco. If Cazares indeed vacates the title. Anuran will propose a unification match between Francisco and the newly crowned International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight champion Christian Mijares (41-6-2, 18 KOs) of Mexico. “Mijares is also a great champion, but the more important factor is that he is known worldwide; if Drian beats him, everyone will know Drian," Anuran said. “Hopefully, this fight gets signed and becomes a part of the undercard of a big match in LA. Drian has never fought in the United States, and beating Mijares there will do wonders for Drian." Mijares is a highly technical fighter who was considered one of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world before he was knocked out by Vic Darchinyan. He scored his best wins against Jorge Arce, Alexander Munoz, and one-time Manny Pacquiao victim Chatchai Sasakul. Aside from his loss against Darchinyan, Mijares was beaten twice by Nehomar Cermeno, but has now won five straight matches, the last a unanimous decision victory over Juan Alberto Rojas for the IBF super flyweight title. But the young manager is not putting all his efforts into sealing a fight against Mijares. “If the Mijares fight does not push through, we’ll look at the offer of the Japanese promoters," he said. – Carlo Pamintuan, KY, JVP, GMANews.TV