FORMER world champion Rene Mark Cuarto goes after the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) interim minimumweight title against Japanese Ginjiro Shigeoka on Sunday at the Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo.
“Rene Mark Cuarto has an amazing preparation in Tokyo, along with coach Nonoy Neri,” international matchmaker Sean Gibbons told BusinessMirror on Thursday. “He is very, very determined to win his title back.”
Cuarto, 26, lost to Daniel Valladares last July 1 in Mexico via split decision, but the Mexican suffered an undisclosed injury that sidelined him since January and prompted the IBF to hold an interim fight for the vacant title.
Valladares also fought Shigeoka last January 6 in Osaka, but the fight ended in a “no contest” after an accidental clash of heads.
Gibbons, who heads boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, said that Cuarto (21-3-2 win-loss-draw record with 12 knockouts) has the edge in terms of style over the 23-year-old southpaw from Japan. Who’s unbeaten in eight fights with six knockouts.
“Mark has the style to win and he is a very aggressive fighter, a non-stop punching machine,” Gibbons said.
“I’m 100 percent in good condition now,” Cuarto told BusinessMirror via chat.
Cuarto tries to be in the company of unified IBF and World Boxing Association super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales, World Boxing Organization minimum weight king Melvin Jerusalem and International Boxing Organization flyweight titlist Dave Apolinar.
