MANILA -- Ringstar Boxing did not wait for April 20 for Jeson Umbal and Muhamad Ridhwan to check out each other's skills.
The Singaporean-based promotion opted to bring the Filipino upstart pug and Singapore's newest boxing sensation in one single open workout at the Kerry Sports Gym in Taguig.
The said open workout is a far cry from the usual open workout setting as both fighters would have separate workouts.
But on Friday, Ringstar CEO Scott Farrell decided to have both boxers in an early face off with two-and-a-half months left before their fight at the Singapore Indoor Stadium as part of an unconventional way of doing a boxing promotion.
"I don't follow what boxing wants me to do," Farrell told the Philippine News Agency (PNA). "When it comes to promotion, let's do it differently."
He further explained, "Let's promote good respect for each other as fighters. These guys are athletes. They're not enemies. They're gonna be 'enemies' on [fight] night. They're gonna go to war. But until and after that time, there's no reason [for them] not to be on tour doing the promotion together."
Farrell was also impressed that both pugs had a great time granting interview requests from the reporters who were present at the open workout.
"They're both cohesive and open to the press, and it worked," he continued. "It's pretty cool, right?"
Umbal and Ridhwan will both slug it out at Roar of Singapore 4: Night of Champions as they battle for the IBO intercontinental featherweight title, which can put one of them closer to a world title shot.
Farrell vowed that the match--and the entire fight card that also features Michael Dasmarinas' IBO bantamweight title fight against French pugilist Karim Guerfi--will be a world-class battle.
"I go with all the correct sanctioning bodies and make sure that everything is at the highest premium level," Farrell assured. (PNA)
