YET another prospective future world champion has been sighted on our fight radar and his name is Denver Cuello. Well, Denver Cuello Singwangcha would probably be more accurate.
Don?t worry, he is as Filipino as Manny Pacquiao. The appended moniker is by virtue of the Thai practice to let a fighter carry a sponsor?s name for recognition.
In Denver?s case, his manager Aljoe Jaro has netted him a benefactor in Naris Singwangcha, a 65-year-old Thai who, thankfully, likes to spend money on Jaro?s boxers.
THE FIGHT. Denver (22-4, 13KOS) looked impressive in becoming the first fighter to stop rugged veteran and former IBF minimum-weight world champion Muhammad Rachman whose record now stands at 62-9, 31KOs.
Granted, Rachman had registered a lot of wear and tear on his fight odometer, but the cagey Indonesian is known for his resiliency, and always found a way to keep things arguably competitive, even when he was losing.
This time around, though, he was battered from pillar to post as Denver imposed a frenetic pace from the fight?s inception to its denouement.
After the quintessential feeling-out first round, Denver started the second round with blistering combinations that rocked his veteran opponent, but the latter responded well with timely counters.
The second and third were more of the same, but Denver noticeably started targeting his older foe?s body, which seemed to instantly net him some mild success.
Rachman seemed to favor the blows landing on his midsection and kept his guard low.
However, this only opened him up for some serious leather unleashed by Denver on his face. Youth has to be served, but in this case, the young man was the one dishing out systematic punishment.
What made matters one-sided was the fact that Denver showed up with plenty of slick defensive moves that on numerous occasions, kept Rachman pawing at nothing but thin air.
A knockdown in the fifth round was probably a dubious call because Rachman appeared to catch the blow on his gloves as he was slipping.
Not that it mattered really, as by then Rachman was a spent force.
The ref wisely called it off in the ninth round and Denver Cuello Singwancha is now the WBC minimumweight international title-holder.
UFC 119. If you need further proof that matchmaking can be a darn, daft undertaking, look no further than last Sunday?s main event at UFC 119.
On paper, the match-up looked good. A multi-awarded Croatian fighting machine facing off against a former UFC heavyweight champion with fearsome ground skills.
Mirko Cro-cop vs. Frank Mir. How could things go wrong?
Unfortunately, the two spent the first two rounds making sure no fighting actually broke out, and the fans were quite generous in letting the fighters know their displeasure at their new-found joviality towards each other.
Mir did score a stoppage win after landing a big right knee at 4:02 of the third round, but that wasn?t the most significant damage blow scored that night.
The UFC?s image also took a direct hit and it would serve them well to find a way to motivate main event fighters to take a lot more risks to give the fans their money?s worth.
After all, this is purportedly how pro boxing has alienated some of its followers.
QUOTED. ?I want to stay active. Our home in Iloilo is falling apart and we need about P500,000 more to fix it. I also promised my brothers Denmark and Dizon to pay for their college education.?–Denver Cuello as quoted in www.philstar.com
LAST ROUND. It?s on super mom Dawn Bolongan-Tero who celebrates her birthday today.
