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Philippines, 04 May 2026 |
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LORETO RETAINS IBO LIGHT FLYWEIGHT TITLE WITH STUNNING 1ST ROUND KO OF JOYI By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Mon, 23 Mar 2015  IBO light flyweight champion Rey ?Hitman? Loreto has retained his title with a stunning 1st round knockout of former champion Nkosinathi Joyi in a rematch in East London, South Africa. The rematch had been canceled twice before, with the first plug being pulled last December before Loreto forced a postponement from February 28 when he underwent surgery for a swollen appendix two months ago which drastically cut down his sparring and his training regimen as he was recovering from the operation. As broadcast journalist and former North Cotabato governor Manny Pinol reported it was a fight nobody expected Loreto to win but they hadn?t bargained with the Filipino southpaw?s courageous heart and a strong faith in God. It was a brutal victory that silenced the noisy hometown crowd who chanted a Zulu war song to buoy the fighting spirit of the former Olympian and two-time world champion who was also knocked out by Loreto in their first meeting in Monte Carlo Feb. 12 last year in the third round. With the win Loreto improved to 20-13 with 12 knockouts while Joyi?s future appeared uncertain. Pinol said the 24 year old Loreto came out smoking the moment South African referee Nyangiwe signaled the start of the fight. In his report Pinol said ?at about one minute and 30 seconds into the fight, Loreto caught Joyi with a crunching right hook followed by a left uppercut which dropped the South Africa for a mandatory count of 8. It was obvious though that Joyi was badly hurt and as Nyangiwe motioned the two fighters to resume the action, Loreto stepped forward, measured the distance between him and the South African fighter and unleashed a combination to the head and as Joyi slumped almost motionless in the neutral corner, Nyangiwe did not even bother to count and waved off the fight. ? Loreto, who was later joined by his trainer Joven Jorda, cried and shouted "Thank you Lord" after the fight was stopped. Loreto later admitted that he actually cried even before he climbed the ring for the first defense of the title he won in a shock 3rd round knockout of Joyi last year. He said "I was sorry for myself because I did not have enough preparation for the fight but I prayed to God to give me strength and help me retain my title for the sake of my young son." Jorda said he and Loreto's manager, Brico Santig, actually advised the champion against taking the fight even before he could fully recover from the surgery but he refused because he was building a small house in Davao City and wanted to finish it. Loreto thanked God for helping him and for feeling sorry for him. With his smashing victory in the rematch Loreto who improved to 20-13 with. With his second victory against Joyi, Loreto proved that his first win in Monte Carlo was not a fluke. Boxing writer Mesuli Zifo earlier reported that ?for one agonizing moment, Joyi?s rematch against Loreto appeared to have fallen off the radar again. But promoter Siphatho Handi pulled out all the stops to ensure that ?Mabhere? gets his redemption fight which took place at the Mdantsane Indoor Centre on Sunday night Manila Time but there was to be no redemption. The repeated cancellations were evident at the premedical when Joyi appeared irritated even during the photo shoot. Zifo said that wWhile the 31-year-old is always moody ahead of his fights, he was worse this week when he sulked and even tried to duck interviews. ?Mabhere does not like to talk before his fights and he is not very fond of training,? reasoned his trainer Boy Boy Mpulampula. But Joyi?s mood appeared to be caused by something more than training. Having trained so hard twice before only for the fight to be canceled it obviously strained his patience. The well-known South African boxing writer speculated on whether Joyi will take that attitude into the ring . He said it ?remains to be seen but if he does not in turn become more positive he might see the repeat of his shocking knockout defeat by Loreto.? In contrast to Joyi, Loreto was ? in surprisingly high spirits despite coming off a long flight from Manilla. He had no problem doing just about everything that was asked of him with a little bow of respect ? often displayed by Asians. Joyi?s traimner Mpulampula allayed fears that Joyi was not in the right frame of mind ahead of this make or break fight, stating ?No, no, Nkosinathi is just being Nkosinathi, nothing to it.? Once a seemingly invincible boxer who was at the pound for pound summit in the mini-flyweight division, Joyi has suddenly found himself not just fighting to remain a player on the world stage but to save his career. Mpulampula still refuses to credit Loreto for the monstrous left hook he pole-axed Joyi with, choosing to blame unfitness as the reason for the shock defeat. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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