LAS VEGAS ? After having great trouble making weight, Diosdado Gabi found himself in deeper trouble up on the ring Saturday.
The 28-year-old Filipino just couldn?t handle the punch of Mexico?s Abner Mares and was knocked out with 49 seconds left in the second round.
Gabi, said to be five pounds over the bantamweight limit of 118 lbs just days before the fight, took a big right from Mares early in the second round for the first knockdown.
He got up at the count of six, and tried to engage Mares in another exchange, probably in the hope of landing a lucky punch and turning things around.
But it never happened. Instead, he got caught with a couple more punches, including a short right to the face.
Still feeling the effects of the first knockdown, he fell down once more, and looked like he was going to fall off the ring.
Again, he got up, eyes dazed, legs wobbly, and referee Jay Nady had to signal the end of the bout.
?I got caught with a clear shot,? Gabi said after his ring record fell to 30-5-1. He weighed 119.5 Friday (Mares at 117) but still was allowed to fight.
Mares, from Guadalajara, retained the NABO bantamweight crown, and remained undefeated after 17 fights with 10 knockouts.
The 22-year-old Mares carried with him into a ring a checkered amateur career that included 84 wins in 112 fights.
The young prot?g? of Nacho Beristain represented Mexico during the 2004 Athens Olympics. But he lost to Zsold Bedak of Hungary in the first round.
Right from the start, against the off-form Gabi, he was the better fighter.
