‘Pikaboo’ preps for 7th PXC fight

Trench Tech’s Shane “Pikaboo” Alvarez leaves for the Philippines today to attend a training camp and prepare for his first fight of the year.

“We will be in Manila at the Penalosa Boxing Gym for mitts and regular training and then we will also go to the Elorde Sports Center where a lot of champions go to spar,” said Shane, who will be joined by his cousin Roman in the training camp.

Alvarez needs all the training he could get in the Philippines and here on Saipan as he will be facing a tough opponent in Emilio Urrutia in PXC 52 at the University of Guam Fieldhouse.

“We will be training under coach Carl Penalosa. Our Korean friend Michael Park has been living in the Philippines for a few years now and he is a friend of coach Carl. We want to get good quality sparring and critique our techniques in boxing and kickboxing,” said Shane, who will be fighting back at the bantamweight class (135lbs).

“I moved back up to 135 so I should be the faster fighter though he (Urrutia) may be a bit stronger. We will be in the Philippines for two and a half weeks then it’s back here to finish our last month of training and work on my strength,” he added.

Shane hopes to start the year on a winning note after dropping his season-ending fight last month. He lost to Japanese Yutaro Muramoto via unanimous decision in PXC 50 last Dec. 4.

The defeat was Shane’s third against 11 wins and his second in six appearances in PXC. He won his first PXC fights, prevailing against Tony Reyes in PXC 38 last Aug. 9, 2013 via unanimous decision; topping Rodel Orais (Kimura hold) in PXC 41 last Nov. 9, 2013; and downing Jay Tenorio (split decision) in PXC 42 last Feb. 28, 2014.

The son of Trench Tech founder and president Cuki Alvarez then absorbed his first loss at the hands of Darrne Uyenoyama (TKO/punches) in PXC 45 last Oct. 24, 2014 before recovering in PXC 49 in August last year after beating Jessie Rafols via rear-naked choke at the 3:46 mark of the opening round.

Urrutia, who is from Miami, Florida, also dropped his recent match against the Philippines’ Ernie Braca (split decision) in PXC 51 held last Jan. 16 this year. The 29-year-old Urrutia has a 7-3 record, winning three straight bouts before bowing to Braca. He weighs 143lbs and an inch shorter than Shane, standing at 5’8”.

“He is a strong wrestler so I need to keep him away with my striking and movement and sprawl hard on his takedowns,” Shane said.