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THE SQUARED RING

By Rich Mazon


Jonathan ?The Lightning? Taconing wants a second strike

PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 09 May 2012



Jonathan Taconing returned to Manila from Bangkok, Thailand last Saturday night with obvious physical signs of a fighter who just fought a hard battle in the ring. Not only is he sporting a ?black eye? on his left eye, his face also bore swelling from his unsuccessful bid to steal a world title belt from WBC light flyweight and Thai champion, Kompayak Pompramook. But it is not the bruising in his eye nor is the swelling in his face are what bothers the 25 year old Filipino boxer the most. It is the controversial result and ending of his fight in Thailand that distresses him. Taconing was a frustrated man when I spoke to him hours after landing in Manila. ?Panalong, panalo talaga ako doon eh. Atsaka, parang nadaya ako doon.? (I really won that fight. I felt cheated over there.) Taconing said.

Taconing enumerated certain things that he and his team noticed during the fight in Pompramook?s hometown last May 3, 2012. He cited the behavior of the referee, the ringside physician and his opponent?s promoter during the fight. ?Kagaya noong nagsusuntukan kami, bigla kaming aawatin at babawasan akong bigla ng referee.? (Like, when me and Pompranook where exchanging punches, the referee would interfere in the action and would just deduct a point from me.) complained Taconing.
The native of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte had his opponent in the ropes in the 5th round of their fight and was busy unloading a barrage of punches on him when Korean referee, Jae Bong-Kim stepped between them and stopped the action. Kim then deducted a point from Taconing which baffled the Pinoy boxer. Taconing did not receive an explanation for the said deduction from the referee, citing the language difference between them as a factor. ?Hindi nga eh, hindi ko kasi maintindihan yung salita nila. Pero tingin ko, dahil daw hine-head-butt ko daw siya. (No they did not explain to me, I cannot understand their language too. But, I think he said it was me allegedly head-butting him.)

Pompramook suffered a small cut in the previous round due to an accidental clash of heads between the two. But Taconing insisted that he was not using his head against him when the referee halted the action in the 5th round. Taconing described that Pompramook was ?groggy? at the time when he was raining punches on him and at the time when Kim stopped him and deducted a point from him. ?Hindi ko alam kung bakit biglang itinigil and dineduct-ionan.? (I don?t know why he stopped us and deducted a point.) the frustrated boxer told me. Taconing was confident that he would have knocked down Pompramook then if not for Kim?s interference.

Taconing also complained of the ringside physician during the said fight. He said that the doctor should have not been inside the ring while the fight was going on. ?Hindi naman siya dapat doon.? (He should have not been there.) he charged. Thirdly, Taconing also narrated that Pompramook?s promoter was circling the judges during the fight. ?Umiikot siya sa mga judge, dapat bawal yun doon.? (The promoter was circling around the judges,that should have not been allowed.)

Taconing lost the fight via a majority technical decision after the ring officials decided that Pompramook cannot proceed to fight due to the cut he suffered in the 4th round of the fight. Two judges had the champion ahead and one has the fight even in their score cards. Taconing initially thought that the reason the fight was stopped is that because his opponent refused to come out of his corner to fight. ?Nagtaka nga ako at anu daw, dahil sa sugat. Maliit lang, malaki pa nga yung walis ting-ting.? (I was wondering why they stopped it; they said it?s because of the wound. It?s so small; a stick/strand of a broom stick is even bigger than that.) Taconing narrated. He also compared the cut to the one that Chad Dawson suffered in his last fight against Bernard Hopkins in New Jersey, describing that cut was far bigger and worse than that of Pompramook. He said that Dawson was allowed to continue, finish the fight and win the belts from Hopkins despite those cuts.

Taconing described that the predominantly Thai audience was clamoring for more action after the fight was stopped and were also dissatisfied with the decision. A member of the audience even gave him a shirt that says ?World Champion? and a medal because of his effort in the ring. He also said that he and his team wanted to boo and contest the decision but were refrained and advised not to by a Thai matchmaker. The matchmaker cited the incident in Argentina last February where a rumble ensued after fellow Filipino boxer Johnriel Casimero won his fight against the hometown fighter. An advice Taconing and his team adhered to.

The Elorde fighter said that his team and promoter have filed a protest to the World Boxing Council (WBC) of the said fight. He is hoping that the decision will be overturned and that a rematch will be ordered by the boxing body in the near future. He is already looking forward to the rematch; verbalizing he will only rest for a couple of days then resume his training. The Filipino southpaw does not mind if the fight will be held in Thailand again. ?Lalaban pa rin ako doon.? ( I will still fight there.) he confidently exclaimed. ?Hindi naman po ako natatakot pero gagawin ko pa rin po ulit iyong best kong laban para sa kanya.? (I am not afraid and I will do my best to fight him.)

Taconing is thankful of the outpouring of support that he received most especially after the fight from his countrymen. He promised that if the rematch will happen, he will nab that belt from Pompramook. ?Ipa-promise ko po sa kanila na aagawin ko po yung belt.? (I promise to steal that belt.) he confidently stated.

Jonathan Taconing was a picture of frustration and disappointment after his match last week. But that did not stem from the defeat that he suffered in the ring. It was, from what he perceived was an unjust and unfair result of the fight. He promised his pregnant wife, Beth and his 3 year old son, Nathaniel that he will bring the championship belt to them on his return. He was so close to doing so until he was abruptly stopped from achieving it. He comes home to them and his country a defeated warrior and a beltless boxer but not in their eyes. Beth and little Nathaniel know he won and that he is a champion in their eyes. His countrymen knew it as well. And Jonathan ?The Lightning? Taconing cannot wait until he truly becomes a world champion and present them with that championship belt. He cannot wait to get his chance to do it all over again and it does not matter when, how and where. He just wants another try.

Please email the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reaction to this piece.

Photo: Taconing (R) with his wife and son.



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