Rodel Mayol Hopes to Finally Win World Title Special

For Filipino Rodel Mayol, it’s now or never this coming June 13 when he fights the undefeated Puerto Rican Ivan Calderon (32-0, 6 KO) at the Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City.

On his third attempt to annex a world championship belt and now under the watch of the great Manny Pacquaio, Mayol (25-3, 18 KO) understands the risks and big potentials involved in this make-or-break fight which serves as an undercard on the Miguel Cotto-Joshua Clottey main event. In a chance interview today at the final press conference at the MSG Theatre Lobby for the Cotto-Clottey world welterweight championship, Mayol stressed the need to be aggressive in the opening rounds. “Magaling pumuntos kaya dapat sa umpisa pa lang, aggressive na ako. May game plan na kami so yun susundan namin (Calderon hits his opponent and gets his points accordingly in every fight so I have to be aggressive this time. We will follow our game plan),” said Mayol. Asked if he was bothered by the hordes of Puerto Ricans and Latinos on fight night to cheer for Calderon and the possible non-arrival of his new “boss” Manny Pacquaio from Manila in the Philippines, Rodel added “Hindi naman, motivated naman tayo. Pareho lang naman kaming nasa itaas ng ring ni Calderon so patas lang. Lalaban siyempre (No, I remain motivated. Eventually, Calderon and I will both be on top of the ring as the fighters so I guess it's just even).” The Mandaue City, Cebu native took the podium and told the media that he knows this is his third try for a world title and he will do his very best, as such opportunity may never come again. “Also, some critics are saying this will be a boring fight versus Calderon so I am promising now that it won’t be. So I will try my best,“ he added. The road to the Calderon fight was not easy for Rodel. In his first world title fight against Eagle Kyowa for the WBC strawweight title in April 2006, he lost a close 12 round decision deemed as controversial by many. Then in August 2007, he challenged Ulises Solis of Mexico for the IBF Jr. flyweight title and again, he lost by way of an 8th round knock-out. Both were heartbreaking but according to Rodel, there was a common denominator in both fights: lack of physical and mental preparation. “In my first title fight, I was only given a month’s notice and my trainer that time had to train some other boxers too in Japan,” he recalled. “In the Solis fight, I had a one year lay-off and again I was on a month’s notice before the day of the fight. This time around with the help of Manny Pacquaio, I found a new manager and trainer for this fight. The last six weeks has been intense training at the Wild Card Gym with Coach Freddie and Buboy and I feel strong –- physically and mentally. I hope to put up a good fight.” Mayol was referring to Buboy Fernandez, Manny Pacquaio's bosom friend-cum-trainer, who sat beside him at the presscon with three more members of the training team. All five came with an all-red Team Pacquaio outfit. During the fighters presentation, only Mayol and Fernandez were requested to sit in the main podium along with the main protagonists, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey and their respective training teams. Interestingly, with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum uttering at the presscon that Manny Pacquaio will indeed make it to the Big Apple to accept his Boxing Writers Association of America "Fighter of the Year 2008" Award and to finally cheer for Mayol on fight night along with fellow Filipinos based in the US East Coast, boxing fans will be treated to an unforgettable and exciting weekend. Rodel Mayol has to put his best foot forward. This time, with the hope that it will be a sweet triumph in the end.