Tough 115-pounders meet in Las Vegas the night before the Pacquiao-Cotto superfight when Federico Catubay of the Philippines faces Mexico’s Juan Alberto Rosas in an IBF junior bantam title eliminator.

Catubay, a southpaw who sometimes switches to the orthodox posture, comes into the fight after a big win in the Philippines when he beat Thailand’s two-time world title challenger Pramuansak on a split decision.

Rosas has lost five of his last 10 fights but he has never been stopped and he gave the skilled and dangerous Fernando Montiel a rough time in a 10-round bout last November.

In my only look at Catubay he was outgunned and overpowered in the last round by Vic Darchinyan in Australia, but he went down fighting and even managed to stagger Darchinyan with a right hook throw in the southpaw stance.

Catubay’s record is dotted with losses, but that is because he has been matched in tough fights from the start of his career. Rosas got off to a fine start with 25 wins in a row but he has struggled in the last few years. When I saw Rosas from ringside in Las Vegas in a loss to Sergio Espinoza in 2007 I made the note that he was “hittable and nothing special”. He had two points deducted in that fight, one for a low blow and the other for “unsportsmanlike conduct” when he swung Espinoza around in a clinch. I saw Rosas from ringside in another Las Vegas fight two months later when he was outpointed by AJ Banal, the Filipino southpaw, when my notes described the Mexican boxer as “tough and willing”. In the fight with Montiel, Rosas was well beaten but “always trying”, as my notes remind me, although he became frustrated by Montiel’s flashy moves and had a point deducted for a blatant butt.

Both men can be rough customers — Catubay has had points deducted in Japan, Rosas had the points docked in the Espinoza and Montiel bouts. Catubay’s only loss in the last two years was on points to the capable southpaw Sod Looknongyangtoy in Thailand, and he has just scored the best win of his career, so I make him the favourite. However, Rosas is the younger man by five years and I think it will help him that Catubay isn’t an elusive type. Rosas will have to stay disciplined to win this, though — he mustn’t let himself get bamboozled by Catubay’s switch-hitting method.

I don’t have a strong opinion about this fight. Catubay has 15 losses on his record but he seems to be a late bloomer and his recent form has been good. Yet sometimes tough, gritty Mexican fighters with patchy records such as Rosas suddenly rise above themselves — Cristobal Cruz is a classic example of this. Some readers don’t like it when I prevaricate, but I have to hedge my bets a little on this one: Catubay looks the likely winner, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Rosas pulled it off.