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Philippines, 22 Jan 2026 |
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DONAIRE ASSUMES PACQUIAO MANTLE WITH CRUSHING 3RD ROUND TKO OF BEDAK; MAGSAYO DEMONSTRATES THE HEART OF A LION IN SCORING 6TH ROUND TKO OF AVALOS By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 24 Apr 2016  Two weeks after eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao scored an impressive unanimous twelve round decision in his trilogy with Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley and announced he was hanging up his gloves to pursue his mission of public service through election to the Senate in next month's elections, Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire stepped up to assume Manny's mantle of national sports hero by crushing former Hungarian Olympian and world No. 4 ranked Zsolt Bedak in three rounds before an ecstatic crowd of 25,000 supporters at the sprawling Cebu City Sports Center on a hot and humid Saturdaynight. After an initial feeling-out round, Donaire connected with his lethal left hook to send the challenger who is himself known as "Mr. Left Hook" crashing to the canvas midway in round two. With blood dripping from his battered nose, Bedak gamely got up only to be deposited on the seat of his trunks with another vicious left hook that had "no mercy" written all over it. The bell mercifully saved the Hungarian Olympian who had lost only once before in his career as a pro in a title fight against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr who won by a 10th round TKO after Bedak who suffered a broken jaw in round two survived in a gallant effort for eight more rounds before he called it quits. Vasquez himself was dropped and beaten in lopsided fashion by Donaire who won the super bantamweight title at the Alamadome in San Antonio Texas some years ago. It was clear the end was near as Donaire, cheered on by fight fans who had embraced him after his heroic battle against an unbelievably strong Cesar Juarez of Mexico to win the 122 pound crown for the second time following his crushing 6th round stoppage against the bigger, stronger Nicholas "Axe Man" Walters, chased the wobbly challenger and ripped into him this time with a cracking right hand that dropped Bedak for a third time giving renowned referee Russell Mora no choice but to call a halt to the massacre at 2:44 of the third round. Despite a battered, bloodied face with blood dripping from his nose and mouth, Bedak assured media that he was fine. Donaire won the hearts of the hometown crowd by speaking in Bisaya since the island of Cebu is proud of its language and boxing heritage. With this memorable performance, Donaire showed that he is indeed worthy of the monicker ?Flash?, a name that was worn by Cebu?s favorite son and legendary boxer, Gabriel Elorde, the son of a poor farmer from the town of Bogo who was the longest reigning Filipino world champion until WBO light flyweight Donnie Nietes punched his way to surpass the record in January last year. ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer who teamed up with lead promoter Top Rank and the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN told The Standard that the plan is to see whether Donaire's next title defense could also be staged in the Philippines in the face of the massive support from Filipino fight fans looking for someone to carry the torch for Philippine boxing.   Donaire retains his WBO super bantamweight belt after disposing Bedak in three.  Magsayo drops to his knees as Referee Danrex Tapdasan waives off the fight. MAGSAYO DEMONSTRATES THE HEART OF A LION IN SCORING 6TH ROUND TKO OF AVALOS In a fight that fired the imagination and thrilled the sometimes anxious crowd, unbeaten Mark "Magnifico" Magsayo came off the canvas in round three of an action-packed battle to turn the tide against the far more experienced California's Chris "Hitman" Avalos who was dreaming of re-establishing his credentials as a world title contender. Magsayo cracked Avalos with a series of rapid-fire punches in round two and had the sometimes cocky American who had claimed Magsayo was weak and was a boy facing a man, on the verge of going down as Magsayo battered him from pillar to post. But the 20 year old Filipino's tendency to throw a wild overhand right which enabled Avalos to counter with precise punches resulted in Avalos decking Magsayo with a perfectly-timed left hook. Avalos pressed the action in round four and it seemed that the comparatively inexperienced Magsayo was in deep trouble as he tried to shake off the effects of a barrage of punches from Avalos who wanted to finish him off. But the American didn't reckon with the courage of Magsayo who demonstrated the heart of a lion and bludgeoned Avalos with a left hook that put him on queer streets before the unbeaten Filipino, one of the brightest prospects from the famed ALA Gym, jumped into Avalos who was bloodied and battered as he wobbled to his corner, dazed and unsure of where he was. His corner tried desperately to revive him and took more time than allowed in-between rounds which forced referee Danrex Tapdasan to virtually pull Avalos from the clutches of his handlers as trainer Edito "Ala" Villamor rushed across the ring to the Avalos corner to complain about the inordinate delay even as the ring doctor checked him out. A loaded hook ripped into Avalos sending him into the ropes before another flurry of punches saw referee Tapdasan stop the battering at 1:55 of round six as a towel came floating in from the Avalos corner as the crowd who had gone through some anxious moments erupted into a frenzy of cheers. When the fight was stopped judge Katsuhiko Nakamura of Japan had Magsayo slightly ahead 47-46 while Filipino judge Greg Ortega had Magsayo leading by a comfortable 48-45 margin while another international Filipino judge Salven Lagumbay had Avalos in front 47-46. ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer told The Standard Magsayo would rest for a couple of weeks even as he revealed they are studying the possibility of sending Magsayo to Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach to hone his skills just like Roach did with Pacquiao. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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