Pitpitungue defends bantam crown in PXC37

CRISANTO Pitpitungue takes a break from his job as Baguio City policeman to defend his bantamweight title against Japanese Michinori Tanaka in the main card of the PXC37 at the Ynares Sports Arena on Saturday night.

A cruel striker with a heavy right hand, Pitpitungue tries to shake off ring rust in the first defense of the title he won with a vicious first-round knockout of Guam’s Justin Cruz in July last year.

For this fight, the 26-year-old Team Lakay slugger has trained for almost four months, watching Tanaka’s previous fights over and over while working on his ground skills.

“I’m well prepared for a submission specialist like him. I’ve been practicing daily on how to counter his moves on the ground,’’ said Pitpitungue.

Tanaka, undefeated in seven fights, also promised to come up with surprises in his bid to snatch the bantamweight belt during the eight-card event to be aired by AKTV on IBC13 starting 9 p.m.

Tanaka, who trained for 20 days in different MMA clubs in the United States, boasts a new set of skills that he hopes could confound Pitpitungue.

Tanaka defeated Caleb Valloton last March with a choke hold in the second round of their face-off in PXC36.

Other  fights feature Jerome Wanawan taking on Ernesto Montilla Jr. (flyweight); Troy Bantiag battling Guam’s Trevin Jones; and Arex Montalban tangling with Rolando Dy (featherweight).