Pagara along with brother Jason are featured as the main attractions in the “Duel in Dubai Part 2,” a weekend boxing event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates featuring boxers mostly from the Philippines and Mexico.
Pagara, unbeaten in his pro career, will defend his IBF Inter-Continental super bantamweight title which he won from Mexican Hugo Partida via TKO at the Waterfront Resort & Casino in Cebu City last year.
Before departing for Dubai, Pagara expressed his desire to please his compatriots in the UAE as they watch the weekend boxing event.
“There are many Filipinos in Dubai. We hope to entertain them,” Albert said.
While in Dubai for the final phase of his training, Pagara disclosed that he is aiming for a knockout win against Rios but could not predict what round it will happen.
“There will be a knock-out for sure. The only thing I don’t know is which round the knock-out will come,” Albert predicted.
Pagara has a high percentage of knockout wins. From his 22 pro fights, Pagara won 15 bouts via knockout and has remained unbeaten since he turned pro in 2011.
For his part, Rios said: “It’s very easy to speak about a knock-out. I am not here for fun. I have the experience and I doubt he’s going to have things easy in the ring. I am well prepared. Who knows it can be the other way around.”
“I like the way I have trained. He [Albert] is a good fighter, but we have a plan in place. I am really not concerned about the support the Filipino will get. Ultimately, there will be only two of us in the ring and it will be left to us to decide who is the better fighter on the night,” he added.
Rios (31-07-01, 25 KOs), 31, from Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, has also a high KO win ratio, having knocked out 25 of his 31 challengers. All his seven losses though came via KO.
