MANILA, Philippines – The Filipino Flash Nonito Donaire Jr. finally gets to tick off one item in his bucket list for his redemption tour: defend his title in his motherland.
Donaire faces off with Hungarian challenger Zsolt Bedak in the exciting Top Rank and ALA Promotions event, “The Time Has Come” at the Cebu City Sports Center on April 23, to lead a fight card that also features promising Filipino pugs Jason Pagara and Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo.
“This is also the first time in a long while that Top Rank Promotions held a major fightcard here in the Philippines. This is a very deal, especially for ABS-CBN Sports,” ABS-CBN Integrated Sports head Dino Laurena said during the fight’s presser held at the ABS-CBN compound.
Bringing this world-class boxing action closer to Filipino fight fans is ABS-CBN, the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines. The fight will air on free TV on ABS-CBN on April 24 at 8:30am, with a telecast on ABS-CBN Sports + Action on the same day at 12nn. Viewers can also watch it on high-definition on ABS-CBN Sports + Action HD Ch166 on April 25, 10pm.
The fight can also be watched LIVE, except in Cebu, on SkyCable and Destiny Cable Pay-Per-View on April 23. Meanwhile, overseas Filipinos may catch the bout live via TFC (The Filipino Channel) on TFC’s IPTV and online (TFC.tv) platforms worldwide (except Hungary and China) and including carriage partners in the U.S. (including Guam) and Middle East.
The five-division champion who sports a career 36W-3L (23 KOs) record, is raring to cement his title as one of the best ever at his class pound-for-pound with a smashing victory over his opponent Bedak, who totes a 25-1 card and who eerily reminds fight fans of the Filipino Flash’s old nemesis, Armenian Vic Darchinyan.
The reigning WBO Super bantamweight champ is out to put a good show in front of the Cebuanos as he fights for more glory and a possible shot at more lucrative fights.
“I’m going to win this fight. I am going to win it the way I want to, because I trained for it…and knowing that it’s in front of my countrymen, I will give all I have,” Donaire said during the presser.
Bedak, on the other hand, looks to capitalize on the opportunity being handed to the number 1 boxer to come out of Hungary.
With the cross platform airing of the Donaire vs. Bedak on the network, ABS-CBN Integrated Sports hopes to unite Filipinos all over the world once again as one of the greatest Filipino fighters enter the ring to bring honor and inspiration to the nation.
ABS-CBN Sports, ABS-CBN Sports + Action, and ABS-CBN Sports + Action HD are all under the ABS-CBN Integrated Sports division of ABS-CBN, the country’s leading media and entertainment company. Top Rank Boxing Promotions, headed by the legendary promoter Bob Arum, has been making blockbuster fights since 1980, with world-class fighters in massive title fights across the globe. The promotion outfit also has a long-standing pact with ABS-CBN Sports, which broadcasts “Top Rank Boxing” on ABS-CBN Sports + Action.
Don’t miss the free TV telecast of Donaire vs. Bedak: The Time Has Come on April 24, 8:30am on ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Sports + Action, on cable and high-definition on April 25, 10pm on ABS-CBN Sports + Action HD Ch166. Catch the action live on April 23 via SkyCable Pay-Per-View and TFC.tv or www.tfciptv.com for TFC subscribers.
For more information about ABS-CBN Sports, visit sports.abs-cbn.com, and follow ABS-CBN Sports’ official Facebook and Twitter accounts (@abscbnsports).