Drian Francisco fights for career against compatriot Domingo

Filipino bantamweight contender Drian Francisco is at a crossroads in his career heading into his 10-round bout with compatriot Michael Domingo on Friday, September 23, at the Makati Coliseum in Makati City. Prior to his last fight, the 28-year-old Francisco was riding high in his career and holding an undefeated record of 20-0-1 (16 knockouts) and the interim WBA super flyweight belt. Had the Mindoro Occidental native Francisco, who now resides in Batangas, gotten past lightly-regarded Thai contender Tepparith Singwancha in his May fight, he was promised a showdown with former World Boxing Association (WBA) super flyweight titlist Hugo Cazares. Francisco lost that fight by a unanimous decision, and now instead of fighting for a world title, he's competing against an equally desperate and motivated Domingo, 32, from Cebu City with both of their future as relevant contenders hanging in the balance. At first glance, Francisco's record of 20-1-1 (16 KOs) would seem to make him the favorite over Domingo, who is 42-15-3 (23 KOs) with five defeats by stoppage. But upon further inspection, Domingo's hard-learned lessons against future world champs Jorge Linares and Somsak Sithchatchawal, and victories over "name" fringe contenders like Miguel Roman and Jose Navarro, had most boxing writers picking Domingo over Francisco in this rare Filipino versus Filipino bout of significance. "So far, based from the write ups that I read, a lot of them say that I'm the underdog because Domingo is the more experienced fighter," said Francisco, who's finishing up his training at the Touch Gloves Boxing Camp in Batangas with trainer Benny De la Peña. "It's good for me, it makes me more focused. This fight will determine whether I am ready to be in the same level as the world-class fighters." Domingo, who goes by the moniker "Bruce Lee," has only lost one fight in his last 11 bouts, a unanimous decision defeat to South African Vusi Malinga. Domingo is two inches shorter than Francisco, but has fought at higher weights throughout his career. Francisco also has a college degree after he finished his business administration course at San Sebastian College in Mindoro before turning professional in 2005. There he met his wife Jessebel, whom he married last year and has two children with. But instead of heading into the business arena, he followed the footsteps of his father Deo, who was a former boxer himself. Prior to the loss to Singwancha, Francisco boldly proclaimed that he would score an early knockout in the Thai's backyard, only to find himself on the canvas in round three. It was a humbling defeat, though one judge's scorecard of 117-111 seemed out of touch with the action in the fight. Afterwards Francisco reflected on the bout and what he felt he could learn from the experience. "There were a lot of mistakes committed in my last fight, I know," said Francisco. "Even on the actual day of the fight, I was not ready mentally. I was already overwhelmed by the promise that after the fight I would fight Cazares next." "I knew that my opponent was weak and young so I underestimated him. The crowd in Thailand who favored me added to it. My intensity was lost because of those mental distractions. That was the biggest mistake I made. I know by way of proper training, I can show a better performance." For this training camp Francisco has sparred with Filipino super featherweight Roberto Gonzales 18-0 (10 KOs), who will face Balweg Bangoyan on the show's undercard. He hopes his next camp will be in America to get different looks in sparring. Francisco says his decision to stay at 118 pounds will be short-lived as he plans to climbed up to 122 lbs where he feels more comfortable. Domingo's job will be to make Francisco uncomfortable at any weight. — JVP, GMA News Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News and the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com . Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.