It’s my decision to fight – Cuello

Denver ‘The Excitement’ Cuello, who fought with an injured right shoulder and lost by majority decision in his bid to dethrone WBC world 105 lb division champion Xiong Zhao Zhong of China last Saturday, is upset after reading the articles blaming his manager and promoter Aljoe Jaro for the debacle in Dubai.

In a telephone conversation with this writer, Cuello emphatically stated that it was his decision to push through with his title challenge despite the injury.

“It was my decision to fight,” Cuello said. “No one forced me to fight. I wanted to fight because when will I get another chance to fight for the title? They always found a way to avoid me. They kept on making promises. Why should I let this chance slip away?”

Cuello, a southpaw from Iloilo, had to wait for a year  for his chance at a world title. He earned the mandatory challenger status when he stopped Ganigan Lopez of Mexico in two rounds last May 19, 2012. But when the title was left vacant, he was asked to step aside by the WBC to pave the way for a world title fight in China involving Zhong and Mexican Javier Martinez Resendiz last November.

“I know my body, I was able to train. I may have felt pain on a few occasions but as a boxer, I am trained to ignore pain. I felt good going into the fight,” Cuello revealed.

“While we were training, Kuya Aljoe asked me if we should postpone the fight but I said ‘No’. I don’t want to keep on waiting. They made me wait for a long time already,” he stressed.

Cuello suffered a shoulder injury last Sept. 29, 2012 when he beat Ivan Meneses by unanimous decision in Mexico. Cuello was able to fight again overseas and won a majority decision in Japan against Takashi Kunishige last April 7,2013.

Cuello said that he will have his shoulder operated at the Makati Medical Center and that if the surgery is successful, he could fight again either December or January. He promised to bounce back from his disappointing loss.

“Mubawi nya ta,” Cuello vowed.