ILOILO – native puncher Van Bantillan heaved a huge sigh of relief after Romeo Buhawi yielded in the main event “Bakbakan sa Catmon” last Sunday at the Rena Sports Center in Catmon, Cebu.
Bantillan used his relentless body punching to force Buhawi to retire at the start of the fourth round in a scheduled 10-round duel, promoted by Rex “Wakee” Salud International.
The fight was a grudge rematch and was a fulfilling victory for Bantillan, who eked out a disqualification win over Buhawi in August last year at the City Auditorium in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.
The fight opened with a heated exchange of punches with both fighters taking and giving hard shots at the end of the round.
Bantillan’s top conditioning slowly started to show in the second round as he dominated Buhawi with crisp straights and precise jab combinations.
Body blows
In the third, Bantillan delivered his blows to the body of Buhawi, who was merely keeping himself protected from the attacks of the determined opponent to keep his feet firm on the canvas.
However, at the fourth round bell, Buhawi decided not to come out from his corner and award the win to his bitter rival.
Bantillan kept his unbeaten record clean with a 7-0-1, win-loss-draw record peppered with three knockouts. Buhawi, on the other hand, dropped to 7-8-1, 7 KOs. (RCM)
