SAN FRANCISCO — “No less than a knockout in the 6th round.” This is the promise made by WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr. before local media in Cebu City where his first title defense of his second reign against Hungarian challenger Zsolt “Mr. Left Hook” Bedak will take place on April 23.
The live Pay-Per-View (PPV) telecast of the much-awaited bout at Cebu City Sports Center will be seen in the U.S. and Canada via all major and many independent cable providers in both SD and HD*. Dubbed “The Time Has Come,” this event is presented by Top Rank, ALA Promotions, ABS-CBN Sports + Action and TFC.
The five-division world champion Donaire (36-3, 23 KOs) will be up against a former Olympian who stopped Mexican fighter Abner Mares in the first round at Athens Olympics 2004. Mares later became a three-division world champion. Bedak (25-1, 8 KOs) also knocked out Filipino fighter Ronnie Laput in the 7th round to win the WBO Inter-Continental title in Austria in 2009. Bedak’s only defeat came in the hands of former WBO super bantamweight champion Wilfredo Vasquez Jr of Puerto Rico via 10th round knockout in a world title bout in 2010. Donaire, on the other hand, outpointed Vasquez Jr. for a vacant junior featherweight world title back in 2012. But the tough and resilient Bedak has won 10 consecutive fights since his 2010 defeat. Currently rated no. 4 122-pounder by the WBO, he also vowed to stun Donaire, claiming before Filipino media that he is in peak shape and that this is the most important fight of his career.
The WBO Super Bantamweight Championship fight can be seen on PPV in the U.S. and Canada on April 23, Saturday, with a pre-fight countdown show at 8:00AM ET, followed by the live telecast of the fight at 8:30AM ET. For fans who can’t access the early morning live telecast, a late afternoon replay will air at 5:00PM ET. For cable system channel locations of the live PPV event and replays, viewers can click here and enter their zip codes: https://www.indemand.com/event/boxing-donaire-vs-bedak/. Starting on the afternoon of Sunday, April 24 and for one week, viewers will also be able to access the fight replay via Video On Demand on most cable systems. For locations, go to Events On Demand categories and look for ring sports or event replay folders. The live telecast is distributed to most U.S. cable systems by iN DEMAND. Please contact your local cable provider for more information.