Tough challenges coming from foreign fighters brought out the best from Filipino boxers as they all scored knockout wins as ESPN5 Boxing’s card Saturday night at the Skydome in SM North EDSA.
In the main event of the card co-presented by GerryPens Promotions, Dave “The Hunter” Pe?alosa scored the biggest win of his career as he scored a technical knockout victory over the game Marcos Cardenas of Mexico. The end came at the 2:47 mark of the fourth round.
Pe?alosa was challenged by the tough visitor as he gamely exchanged heavy leather against the undefeated Filipino. The Hunter was rocked early in the fourth round but it only woke him up as the doubled up on his efforts. The first knockdown came from a big straight that put Cardenas on wobbly legs before dropping on all fours.
With the defense of the Mexican focusing on protecting his head, Pe?alosa saw another opening as he dug to the body of Cardenas for the second knockdown. Another body punch secured the third and final knockdown as referee Danrex Tapdasan signaled the end of the bout via technical knockout. Pe?alosa remained undefeated and improved to 15 wins with 11 knockouts.
“I really prepared hard for this fight. I knew that my opponent was ready for a war,” Pe?alosa said after winning the WBO Oriental featherweight champion. “All the work was worth it because I’m not a champion but this will only make me work harder.”
According to his promoter and uncle Gerry Pe?alosa, the young undefeated fighter is ready for a title match.
“This was a big test for Dave because I really picked a tough opponent for him. I’m very happy and impressed with his performance and I think he’s ready for a world title fight.”
The Filipino great and now promoter specifically called out WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez.
In the undercard, another Pe?alosa put in an impressive performance as Carl “Too Sharp” Pe?alosa knocked out Watana Phenbaan of Thailand with a right hook to the body at the 2:22 mark of the third round.
“I saw that my opponent wasn’t hurt with punches to the head because he kept on moving forward,” said Pe?alosa. “I boxed him a little bit then I saw an opening with a body punch. I’ve been working on my power because my trainers have been pushing me to do better.”
Pe?alosa now holds a record of 14 wins against a single defeat with seven knockouts.
Former two-division world champion John Riel Casimero also emerged victorious as he stopped Kenya Yamashita of Japan 47 seconds into the sixth round. Casimero is hoping to be only the fourth Filipino boxer to become a three-division world champion after Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire, and Donnie Nietes as he started his bantamweight campaign with a bang.
Casimero landed meaningful punches in the opening round but the most damaging blow was an uppercut at the tail end of the fifth round that bloodied up the nose of Yamashita. The gallant Japanese fighter’s nose kept bleeding during the break, prompting the doctors to ask if he still wanted to continue.
Yamashita answered the bell for the sixth round but Casimero knew that he was just one big punch away from finishing off his opponent. The Filipino fighter connected with another uppercut right on the nose as blood exploded all over the face of the Japanese fighter with him crashing onto his corner. It took a while for Yamashita to recover his bearings as the medical personnel on the venue worked on him for a few minutes but he eventually got up on his own power, receiving a good ovation from the Filipino fans.
Casimero upped his record to 26 wins against four losses with 26 knockouts.
Up-and-coming fighter Carl Jammes “Wonder Boy” Martin of Lagawe, Ifugao retained his undefeated record with a stoppage win against Petchcharhae Kokietgym of Thailand. Martin showed why a lot of people regard him as the hottest prospect in Philippine boxing today as the Thai fighter refused to answer the bell heading into the fourth round.
Martin improved to 12 wins with 11 knockouts.
