By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense boxer John Michael Zulueta is putting his Asian Boxing Federation (ABF) light flyweight belt on the line as he faces Indonesian boxer Silem Serang at the SpacePlus Night Club, RCA Plaza, in Bangkok, Thailand tonight.

Zulueta, currently in the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation world rankings, is determined to score a victory against Serang for an opportunity to fight for a world title in the future.

“I am really determined to win,” Zulueta said.

“I was told that I could get a chance to fight for the world title if I beat Silem and a defeat could be a huge drop for my current world rankings,” he added.

This will be the Negros Occidental’s Calatrava-native Zulueta’s second defense of the championship he captured when he defeated Thai Sittichai Nimnual last September 28, 2022.

Zulueta’s first defense of the 108 pound ABF championship was last November 30, 2022, against Thailand’s Suriya Kraimanee, but the 10-round championship clash ended in a split draw.

The 27-year-old Zulueta, also a former champion in the minimumweight division, will be entering the match with an untarnished slate of 14-0-2 win-loss-draw, with seven victories by way of knockouts.

On the other hand, the 33-year-old Serang has a 19-25-3 win-loss-draw ring record, including two stoppage wins. However, the Indonesian fighter lost his last two matches last year.

Aside from Zulueta, fellow Filipino Ador Torres is also defending his ABF welterweight championship in the co-main event of the fight card presented by Brico Santig of Highland Boxing Promotions.

The Sorsogon-native Torres (7-4-1, four KOs) will clash with Thailand’s unbeaten 147-pounder former Muay Thai fighter Phiraphong Phuitthoeng, who won his two career matches via knockouts.

On the undercard, Filipino-American JV Tuazon (3-4-2, two KOs) also aims to continue his winning run as he battles veteran Indonesian fighter Jack Amisa, who is making a return from almost a year of boxing inactivity./ASC, WDJ