POWER of immeasurable strength surged last Saturday in front of a loud crowd of 3,000 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Gintong Kamao (Golden Fists) Drian Francisco scored a fifth-round TKO over Panamanian Ricardo Nu?ez to win the eliminator for the WBA super flyweight crown held by Japanese Nabuo Nashiro. Nashiro is slated to defend his crown against Mexico?s Hugo Cazares next month and Francisco gets to meet the winner.
The main event just had to be as thrilling as the undercard that saw promising young guns vie for boxing attention and big paydays in the future. Francisco floored Nu?ez, known as El Matematico, twice in the first round and twice more in the fifth to secure the chance to fight for Nashiro?s title.
Recah Trinidad, with whom I did my very first boxing coverage in Korea and several other fight shows later, pondered in his column last Saturday if Francisco had rid himself of careless habits that invited contact as much as it unleashed power.
In the first, Francisco hurled a seemingly wild left hook that decked Nu?ez. In the postfight chat, Francisco said even he didn?t see the hook connecting as both fighters were trading bombs to start the fight. Then, Francisco popped a brisk combination that stunned Nu?ez again for the second KO.
Then, you couldn?t help but think of Recah?s questions after that torrid first round. Francisco missed badly in the second and third. Nu?ez visibly cleared his head of the sting of the two knockdowns and settled into the fight. Francisco was obviously angling for a knockout, the kind that promoters and fans enjoy and remember. Even with a mouthpiece in him, it was clear that Francisco was gnashing his teeth as he craved for the KO.
But, in time, raw power took over. Francisco churns out power in probably its most lethal boxing form. At the end of the fifth round, Nu?ez must have felt like he ran into an out of control truck or bus on Edsa. He was flat on his back and wanting to be anywhere else except on that damp canvas.
With more fights against tougher foes in the future, Francisco could learn a trick or two on how to manage that awesome gift, without leaving us worried if his strength is also his weakness. He is like most fighters blessed with explosive hands like Manny Pacquiao, Rolando Navarrete, Roberto Duran and Mike Tyson. There is a need to harness that power so that it can be used prudently.
Yet make no mistake about it. Drian Francisco is a fighter to watch. It?s hard to ignore that awesome reservoir of power ready to wreak havoc on the boxing plans of others around the planet.
