THEY came, they were seen and they conquered.
It was a rousing start for the ALA fighters as they all emerged victorious in the inaugural Pinoy Pride card in the USA.
Leading the charge was Donnie Nietes (37-1, 21 KOs) who looked sharp in repulsing the spirited challenge of Juan Alejo via unanimous decision.
Alejo came to fight and was no pushover as he brought the fight to “Ahas ” and even managed to cut the latter.
However, Nietes is too accomplished of a champion to get untracked by a cut and he exhibited excellent ring generalship all throughout the fight.
Albert Pagara uncharacteristically seemed disinterested and tentative in the first round against William Gonzales.
But with about 40 seconds left in the second round, he suddenly erupted with a left jab- straight right combo that had the Nicaraguan on the seat of his pants and unable to beat the ref’s count.
Older brother Jason looked frighteningly powerful against Santos Benavides, knocking the latter down thrice en route to a 2nd round stoppage.
Mark Magsayo made the most impact with a blistering kayo of fellow prospect Yardley Suarez in just 2 minutes of the first round.
“Magnifico” unleashed a furious barrage that blitzed Suarez and had him looking like he didn’t belong in the same ring as the young ALA pug.
All told, ALA boxing couldn’t have asked for a more auspicious beginning for its promotional endeavors in the US.
CHOCOLATITO. A few months ago, upon the retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Roman Gonzales (44-0, 38 KOs) ascended to the top of most pound for pound rankings by default.
But last Sunday, he demonstrated that he truly deserved that distinction, and he did this inpressive fashion by dismantling the formidable Brian Viloria.
The “Hawaiian Punch ” was in the fight in the first two rounds and holding his own, but a right cross in the third round which produced a knockdown, was the momentum changer.
Gonzales proceeded to take apart Viloria, slicing him repeatedly with uppercuts, crosses and hooks.
To his credit, Viloria never stopped trying but he had no answer to Chocolatito’s feral approach and strength advantage.
In the second half of the fight, Viloria’s output began to wane and his well-documented late fight fade began to show.
Up until the final sequence wherein the referee called for the denouement of the fight, Viloria was on his feet and fighting back, and he deserves commendation for the tremendous show of courage and heart.
Next up: Nietes vs Gonzales?
LAST ROUND. It’s one of my best buddies way back in law school , Atty Alan Siu who celebrates his birthday today. Cheers! ([email protected])
