Reynaldo Bautista
# Reynaldo Bautista

Reynaldo "Rey" Bautista (born June 19, 1986 in Candijay, Bohol, Philippines), more commonly known as Boom Boom Bautista, is a retired Filipino professional boxer who once fought for the WBO junior featherweight title. He currently resides in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

## Early life

Bautista spent his early childhood in the fields, growing rice with his family. Craving to live a better and more successful life, he turned to boxing at a very young age. Bautista, at the time, was discovered by Nemi Monton (ABAP Region VII president and chair for Boxing Development of the Bohol PSC), who allowed the young Bautista to fight in amateur bouts, within the island province of Bohol. Fed up with poverty, Bautista turned pro just a week shy before his 17th birthday, hoping to find a better opportunity.

### Early career at Bantamweight

On June 12, 2003, in the Gaisano Country Mall in Cebu, Philippines, Bautista made his professional debut. He won a shutout, unanimous decision (UD) through six rounds against Reyco Compendio. At only 17 years of age, Bautista showed much potential.

After winning his next seven fights, Bautista compiled an undefeated record of eight wins, and 0 losses (8-0). With only eight fights under his belt, the young Bautista campaigned in Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan for his next three fights. Impressively, he won all three bouts. Bautista defeated Indonesian, Hengky Wuwungan when the referee stopped the fight to prevent Wuwungan from receiving any further damage. Bautista then faced South Korean, Hwi-Jong Kim, whom he defeated by a split decision (SD) through ten rounds. Then Bautista followed that up by traveling to Japan to defeat Hirokatsu Yamazaki, when the Japanese retired from the bout right after the third round.

Following the Yamazaki fight, Bautista had the opportunity to fight for his first regional title. On August 17, 2004, in the Sports and Cultural Complex in Mandaue City, Cebu, Bautista defeated Thai fighter, Saensak Singmanasak by second-round TKO for the then vacant WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title. Bautista defended that title once (against South African Vuyisile Bebe, whom he defeated by a UD through twelve rounds) before he got his first big break in the sport, a chance to show many others his true potential.

### Super Bantamweight

On September 10, 2005, in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Bautista fought in the undercard of Manny Pacquiao's and Erik Morales' respective fights with both Héctor Velázquez and Zahir Raheem. The then undefeated Bautista was able to defeat his Colombian opponent (Felix Flores) by a third-round KO, impressing many people, which led to him fighting on U.S. soil for the majority of his next few fights. But before he was able to make his three fight campaign in the United States, Bautista needed to defend his WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title from Tanzanian, Obote Ameme. Bautista was able to do just that, defeating Ameme by a second-round TKO.

Three months later, Bautista started that three fight campaign by defeating Mexican, Gerardo Espinoza by a UD through eight rounds. Five months later, Bautista continued his success in the states by defeating Nicaraguan, Roberto Bonilla by KO in just three rounds. He finished off the successful "road-trip" by defeating Brazilian, Giovanni Andrade, after Andrade retired from the bout after 4 rounds of action.

After one fight in the Philippines (where he defeated Mexican, Marino Montiel for the then vacant WBO Inter-Continental and Asia Pacific Youth super bantamweight titles), Bautista fought in The World Awaits undercard, when his promoter at the time, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, allowed Bautista to fight in the undercard of his bout against Floyd Mayweather. This was a big step in Bautista's career, since the fight was titled as a WBO Super Bantamweight Title Eliminator.

On May 5, 2007, in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bautista faced and defeated the then undefeated Argentine contender Sergio Manuel Medina (28-0) by UD. Bautista, although defeating Medina, too suffered a knockdown. On the eleventh round, "Medina clearly staggered Bautista with a solid combination and the Filipino held on to the ropes to apparently keep himself from going down". But nonetheless, "in the end, it was the unabated aggression of Bautista which accounted for the big margins on the scorecards of the judges, as he connected with several solid combinations to win most of the close rounds (of the bout)". The win gives Bautista his first world title shot, against the then WBO Super Bantamweight World Champion, Daniel Ponce de León of Mexico.

**First and second career loss**

On August 11, 2007, in ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, Bautista headlined the boxing World Cup staged by Golden Boy Promotions: Philippines vs. Mexico. Bautista, to the disappointment of the many Filipino fans in attendance that night, failed in his first attempt at a world title, when he suffered a first-round TKO loss to the hands of Daniel Ponce de León, suffering his first ever loss as a pro. The Mexican proved to be too strong, knocking down Bautista twice in the first round, forcing the referee to stop the bout.

On November 22, 2008, after administering three more wins to build his confidence following his first-round knockout loss to Ponce de León, Bautista was vanquished by Heriberto Ruiz of Mexico, who had a record of (39-7-2) coming into the bout. Bautista lost by scores of 80-70, 78-72 and 77-73, all in favor of the Mexican.

### Featherweight

Bautista and his handlers decided to move up one weight division, up to featherweight,. On October 16, 2009, Bautista made his long-awaited ring return. There, he took on respected Marangin Marbun of Indonesia, whom he defeated by a seventh-round TKO, awarding Bautista the then vacant interim WBC International Featherweight title, which he relinquished on January 19, 2010.

Bautista fought Thailand's Saichon Sotornpitak for a 10-round non titled fight on April 24, 2010 in Dubai. The bout headlined the card "Philippines vs The Rest of the World, which is presented by KO Promotions in association with ALA Promotions. In this event, two other Filipino boxers, Milan Melindo and Larry Canillas, won their respective bout. Bautista stopped Sotornpitak in the sixth round and improved his record to 28-2, with 21 knockouts. On August 28, 2010, Bautista fought Mexico's Alejandro Barrera (cousin of Marco Antonio Barrera) at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel in Cebu. The Filipino pugilist won the match by TKO in the 4th round, after the referee stopped the fight due to a bad cut over Barrera's left eye, caused by a punch.

On January 29, 2011, the Filipino boxer knocked out Barrera in the third round of their rematch, which took place at the Cebu City Waterfront Hotel & Casino in Cebu, Philippines.

**Ruiz-Bautista Rematch**

June 12, 2011, after suffering a loss in 2008, Bautista defeated Ruiz by Technical decision.

Rey 'Boom Boom' Bautista suffered three cuts due to head butts before the fight was stopped at 0:56 of the seventh round. Heriberto 'Cuate' Ruiz of Mexico effectively defused Bautista's aggressiveness with timely clinches, an effective jab and lateral movement in the early rounds.

Just like in their first fight, Bautista was cut by a clash of heads in the third at the corner of his right eyebrow. Bautista continued to charge forward which resulted in heated exchanges. In the fifth, Ruiz' survival skills showed as he landed a low blow and effectively clinched. Another headbutt opened a cut on Bautista's scalp. Referee Danrex Tapdasan had a hard time controlling the extra-curricular activities.

Bautista was surging and landed the cleaner and harder blows in the 5th and 6th rounds. Ruiz was fading but another clash of heads opened a cut on Bautista's right eyebrow. The ring physician, Dr. Jose Unabia, recommended the fight stoppage. The scores read – Judge Bruce McTavish 69-65, Judge Muhamad Rois 68-65 and Judge Rey Danseco 68-65 all for Bautista.

Bautista won the IBF International featherweight title but a section of the crowd voiced their displeasure. The sportswriters at ringside also had an animated discussion about the outcome.

Per IBF rules, no points were deducted due to the headbutts.

**WBO International featherweight title**

On October 20 Bautista won against Daniel Ruiz for the vacant WBO International featherweight title via split decision. The fight took place at the Mall of Asia Arena and was headlined by Bautista's ALA teammate AJ Banal.

## Retirement

Bautista attempted to defend the WBO International featherweight championship against José Ramírez on April 20, 2013 but lost by split decision. Moments after the bout, he announced his retirement, but he returned for 2 more fights during 2014.

## Post-boxing

Several days after his retirement, Bautista applied to become a boxing trainer for newcomers in the Philippine Air Force.

## Professional boxing record

| 39 fights | 36 wins | 3 losses |
| - | - | - |
| By knockout | 11 | 1 |
| By decision | 25 | 2 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 39 | Win | 36-3-0 | Juan José Martínez | TD | 7 (10) | 5 Sep 2014 | Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Majority TD: Fight was stopped on the 7th round due to a severe cut on the left eyelid of Bautista |
| 38 | Win | 35-3-0 | Sergio Villanueva | UD | 10 | 10 May 2014 | Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines | |
| 37 | Loss | 34-3-0 | José Ramírez | SD | 12 | 17 Aug 2013 | University of Southeastern Philippines, Davao City, Philippines | Lost WBO International featherweight title |
| 36 | Win | 34-2-0 | Daniel Ruiz | SD | 12 | 20 Oct 2012 | Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines | Won vacant WBO International featherweight title |
| 35 | Win | 33-2 | Genaro García | KO | 2 (12), 1:24 | 30 Mar 2012 | Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines | |
| 34 | Win | 32-2 | Miguel Angel Mendoza | KO | 6 (12), 1:20 | 10 Dec 2011 | Hoops Dome, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines | Retained IBF International featherweight title |
| 33 | Win | 31-2 | Heriberto Ruiz | TD | 7 (12), 0:56 | 11 Jun 2011 | Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, Cebu City, Philippines | Won vacant IBF International featherweight title; Unanimous TD: Fight stopped due to a cut on Bautista's right eyebrow produced from an accidental headbutt in Round 7 |
| 32 | Win | 30-2 | Alejandro Barrera | KO | 3 (10), 2:56 | 29 Jan 2011 | Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 31 | Win | 29-2 | Alejandro Barrera | TKO | 4 (10), 1:14 | 28 Aug 2010 | Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 30 | Win | 28-2 | Saichon Sotornpitak | KO | 6 (10), 1:59 | 23 Apr 2010 | The Lounge, Chi Garden, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | |
| 29 | Win | 27-2 | Marangin Marbun | TKO | 7 (12), 1:25 | 16 Oct 2009 | Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 28 | Loss | 26-2 | Heriberto Ruiz | UD | 8 | 22 Nov 2008 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, U.S. | |
| 27 | Win | 26-1 | Eden Marquez | TKO | 2 (12), 1:08 | 30 Aug 2008 | Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, Cebu City, Philippines | Retained WBO Inter-Continental junior-featherweight title |
| 26 | Win | 25-1-0 | Genaro Camargo | KO | 2 (12), 0:57 | 6 Apr 2008 | Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines | Retained WBO Inter-Continental junior-featherweight title |
| 25 | Win | 24-1 | Antonio Meza | UD | 12 | 2 Dec 2007 | Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines | Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental junior-featherweight title |
| 24 | Loss | 23-1 | Daniel Ponce de León | TKO | 1 (12), 2:30 | 11 Aug 2007 | ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S. | For WBO junior-featherweight title |
| 23 | Win | 23-0 | Sergio Manuel Medina | UD | 12 | 5 May 2007 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, U.S. | |
| 22 | Win | 22-0 | Marino Montiel | KO | 3 (10), 1:07 | 24 Feb 2007 | Cebu City Sports Complex, Cebu City, Philippines | Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental and WBO Asia Pacific Youth junior-featherweight titles |
| 21 | Win | 21-0 | Giovanni Andrade | RTD | 4 (10), 0:01 | 2 Dec 2006 | St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida, U.S. | |
| 20 | Win | 20-0 | Roberto Bonilla | KO | 3 (10), 2:36 | 20 May 2006 | Staples Center, Los Angeles, U.S. | |
| 19 | Win | 19-0 | Gerardo Espinoza | UD | 8 | 23 Dec 2005 | Sycuan Resort & Casino, El Cajon, California, U.S. | |
| 18 | Win | 18-0 | Obote Ameme | TKO | 2 (12), 1:57 | 19 Nov 2005 | Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines | Retained WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title |
| 17 | Win | 17-0 | Felix Flores | KO | 3 (8), 1:12 | 10 Sep 2005 | Staples Center, Los Angeles, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 16-0 | Gilberto Bolanos | RTD | 5 (10), 3:00 | 11 Jun 2005 | Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines | |
| 15 | Win | 15-0 | Aree Phosuwangym | TKO | 5 (10), 1:45 | 11 Mar 2005 | Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 14-0 | Vuyisile Bebe | UD | 12 | 29 Jan 2005 | Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines | Retained WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title |
| 13 | Win | 13-0 | Christian Casino | UD | 1 (10), 2:58 | 24 Oct 2004 | Bohol Wisdom School Gym, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines | Retained WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title |
| 12 | Win | 12-0 | Saensak Singmanasak | KO | 2 (12), 1:43 | 17 Aug 2004 | Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines | Won vacant WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title |
| 11 | Win | 11-0 | Hirokatsu Yamazaki | RTD | 3 (10), 3:00 | 27 Jun 2004 | Sangyo Shinko Center, Akashi, Hyōgo, Japab | |
| 10 | Win | 10-0 | Kim Hwi-Jong | SD | 10 | 29 May 2004 | Kyongmin University Gym, Uijeongbu City, South Korea | |
| 9 | Win | 9-0 | Hengky Wuwungan | TKO | 3 (10), 1:00 | 20 Apr 2004 | RCTI Studio, Jakarta, Indonesia | |
| 8 | Win | 8-0 | Albert Cesa | TKO | 2 (10), 2:27 | 4 Apr 2004 | Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines | |
| 7 | Win | 7-0 | Rommel Libradilla | TKO | 2 (10), 1:10 | 28 Feb 2004 | Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines | |
| 6 | Win | 6-0 | Rodel Orais | UD | 10 | 8 Jan 2004 | Gaisano Country Mall Parking Lot, Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 5 | Win | 5-0 | Jun Pader | TKO | 3 (10) | 27 Dec 2003 | Danao Sports Complex, Danao, Cebu, Philippines | |
| 4 | Win | 4-0 | Ricky Escaner | TKO | 3 (10) | 12 Oct 2003 | Guindulman, Bohol, Philippines | |
| 3 | Win | 3-0 | Rey Martizano | TKO | 4 (8) | 30 Aug 2003 | Gaisano Country Mall Parking Lot, Cebu City, Philippines | |
| 2 | Win | 2-0 | Jerry Manganip | TKO | 3 (6) | 26 Jul 2003 | Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines | |
| 1 | Win | 1-0 | Noel Acasio | UD | 6 | 12 Jun 2003 | Gaisano Country Mall Parking Lot, Cebu City, Philippines | |
