In the Queen City of the South, the Cebuanos were not spared by the luck that the triple seven date brings with ALA Boxing Gym mainstay Donnie “The Snakeman” Nietes retaining his WBO Asia Pacific minimumweight belt with a seventh round knockout of Thai Saengpetch Sor Sakulpan at the grand ballroom of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
Nietes had a difficulty charging in for most part of the fight because of the awkward style of his opponent until he planted a bone-cracking right uppercut to the jaw that sent Saengpetch into the dreamland with just 36 seconds gone by of round seven.
In the main event of the mammoth card presented by SGG Sports Promotions in association with South Korea’s BP Entertainment, ALA Boxing Gym and Waterfront Hotel, Korean Young Sung Kim stopped Thai Kongtoranee Por Surasak in 2:29 of round five.
With the win, the WBO Asia Pacific light welterweight crown will be left vacant as Young was stripped of his title prior to the fight for failing to make the regulatory 140-pound weight limit. Had the Thai won, he would have been declared as the new champion.
In the other feature of the explosive card – the first ballroom boxing in Cebu since 2002 – Rocky Fuentes of the ALA Boxing Gym decked Benedict Suico of the RWS Stable four times en route to a masterful eighth round TKO victory to clinch the vacant RP flyweight championship.
Suico had his only bright moment when he sneaked in a right uppercut that downed Fuentes on one knee in the opening session. Fuentes pounced back by unleashing a spate of body shots that weakened Suico as the bout progressed.
Fuentes sent Suico kissing the canvass in rounds four and six and twice in the eight. A wobbly Suico got up after the second knockdown in that fateful round, but his trainer Jun Ablaca climbed up the ring prompting referee Teddy Alivio to quickly wave off the bout in 2:53 of round eight.
In the special attraction featuring the first-ever women’s pro boxing bout in Cebu, Judith Subingsubing wilted in the last two founds of a scheduled four-rounder but scraped through a split decision triumph over a very brave Korean Kim Bo Young. Judges Noel Flores and Edward Ligas both scored 39-37 for Subingsubing, while only Johnny Davies favored the Korean visitor, 39-37.
Former amateur standouts Joseph Von Mi?oza and James Bacon hurdled their pro debut albeit in contrasting fashion. Mi?oza toiled hard before beating Butuan City’s Tata Galendez by unanimous decision, while Bacon needed just 57 seconds to dispose off Danilo Logramonte and record the shortest bout of the night.
The first three bouts of the four-nation slugfest saw the Korean fighters coming up with a clean 3-0 sweep. Jong Wa Lee prevailed over Jimboy Jacinto by majority decision, Moon Byungjoo stopped Noli Fabroa in 1:20 of the second round, and Jae Seong Lee forced Indonesian Tony Arema to wave the white flag of surrender at 1:38 of the fifth round.
