CEBU City ? Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista thrilled a huge crowd of fight fans in this cradle of champions with a spectacular second-round knockout of rugged and game challenger Saengsak Singmanassak of Thailand to win the World Boxing Organization Asia-Pacific bantamweight title at the Mandaue Sports and Cultural Center late Thursday.
With the win, Bautista emerged as the country?s prized prospect for a world title alongside featherweight People?s Champion Manny Pacquiao.
The end was so swift that it took Games and Amusements Board chairman Eduardo Villanueva, whose visit to Cebu was to watch the fight by surprise, as he regrettably showed up only when it was all over.
The sensational performance of Bautista, who just turned 18 and is a product of the famed ALA Gym of respected Cebu boxing patron Tony Aldeguer, drew rave reviews from knowledgeable boxing experts, including World Boxing Organization vice president Leon Panoncillo, who was at special ringside.
Panoncillo hailed Bautista as ?another Manny Pacquiao? and said his devastating punching power was evident in the two action-packed rounds.
The undefeated Bautista, who improved his record to 12-0 with 9 knockouts, nailed Saensak with a cracking right cross after setting him up with a stunning left. This sent the Thai crashing to the canvas where he lay motionless, flat on his back, while doctors administered oxygen before carrying him out on a stretcher and rushing him to the nearby hospital.
The gallant Thai recovered and later returned to the venue where the fans gave him a warm round of applause in appreciation of his courageous stand and in relief that he wasn?t badly hurt.
