Pinoy champ Lopez to use height advantage vs Thai challenger

Having a four-inch edge in height gives Sylvester Lopez a slight advantage against his 5-foot-2 Thai challenger Wandee Singwancha. "He (Singwancha) is small that is why I won't fight him at close range. I'll do what it takes to win," said the 22-year-old Lopez in Filipino during Wednesday's press preview at the Elorde-Makati Gym. The pride of Kabalasan, Zamboanga Sibugay will be making his second defense of the World Boxing Council (WBC) international super flyweight crown that he won against Japan's Katsumi Makiyama last year when he faces Singwancha at the Ynares Center in Pasig City on Saturday. But the 5-foot-6 Lopez must remain cautious against the veteran Singwancha, who scored a number of wins against Filipino fighters, the biggest of which was a unanimous decision victory against Juanito Rubillar, en route to securing the WBC interim light flyweight title. Canadian assistant trainer David Trehanne said Singwancha is comfortable going up against taller fighters and is unfazed on Lopez's height advantage in the main event of the "Bakbakan sa Elorde" fight card. "Going up against Lopez is not a problem. He (Singwancha) even fought a 5-foot-7 Japanese boxer," said Trehanne. "From what I have learned since we've been here, we now have a scheme against (Lopez). But we may have to make adjustments once inside the ring. It all depends on how the fight goes," added Trehanne. The winner of the Lopez Lopez-Singwancha bout will be the top contender for the WBC super flyweight crown vacated by Victor Darchinyan, who moved up to the 118lb bantamweight division. – JVP, GMANews.TV