IT didn’t come as a surprise that Filipino Jeo Santisima is a huge underdog against reigning champion Emanuel Navarrete in their World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-bantamweight title fight on Sunday (Manila time).
The 23-year-old Santisima, fighting out of Cebu-based ALA boxing promotions, is vying for a world championship for the very first time against the man considered as the most active champion in the ring today.
Santisima, a native of Masbate and rated No. 4 by the WBO, is coming in as a massive 50-1 underdog against the Mexican champion going to their 12-round bout at the MGM Grand in Nevada, Las Vegas.
The undercard to the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury heavyweight title rematch also marks the first fight of Santisima (19-2, 16 KOs) out of the country.
The Filipino though, is currently on a 17-fight winning streak after splitting his first four outings as a pro.
Navarrete (30-1, 26 KOs) is staking his 122-lbs title belt for the fifth time in the last nine months.
The Mexican had a Filipino victim in those four previous title defense in Juan Miguel Elorde, who Navarrete stopped in the fourth round of their showdown last September at the T-Mobile Arena also in Las Vegas.
His last title match was a knockout win against Francisco Horta in Mexico two months ago.
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