Straight out my favorite cartoons. That?s how the Randy Suico defended his OPBF super featherweight title Wednesday night at the sweltering and jampacked Lapu-Lapu City Sports Complex. Inspired by the presence of the country?s boxing idol Manny Pacquiao and the support of the SRO crowd, Suico went to a right uppercut-left hook combination to wobble Thai champ Muangfalek Kiatwichien on the ropes, and then finished him off with a barrage of hooks that sent the visitor to the seat of his pants. Although he beat the count, Kiatwichien was clearly in no condition to continue as referee Bruce McTavish wisely stopped the bout at 1:53 of the fourth round.
Suico was initially confused with the unorthodox style of the shorter Kiatwichien who didn?t really display a technical or graceful style of boxing. The Thai was more of a brawler who relied on wild shots from all kinds of angles and who liked to mix it up. He kept taunting Suico to come close and engage him in a brawl along the ropes while also displaying an awkward stance on defense.
After three rounds of probing his challenger and also tasting his punches, Suico went for the kill, relying on his uppercut, some of which missed the mark but had the crowd in ?oohs? and ?ahs,? thinking that the Thai was lucky that Suico missed. Kiatwichien?s rope-a-dope defense finally failed him when Suico landed his dreaded right uppercut on the button, stunning the Thai who immediately dropped both hands and stood frigid, obviously already out cold on his feet. The left hook followed, and as the rain of punches poured, Kiatwichien fell on the ropes on the way to kiss the canvass. End of the bout. Was I pleased with the fight? Yes and no. We?re always happy when our local boxer wins. But we?d also like to see him learn valuable lessons from his fights with the goal of preparing himself for the bigger fights in the future. And this is where I feel the Suico fight may not have helped. I really wanted to see Suico tested and stretched to the limit in the same way he was ?schooled? by Mzonke Fana. Even Ibrahim Aroby of Indonesia did a much better job than Kiatwichien in making Suico sweat. Aroby, who fights like Fana, brought out the best in Suico who had to settle down and apply his boxing skills to get the job done. Randy?s next fights must be ?scripted? so that he?s forced to become Suico the boxer, and not Suico the brawler. Aside from his right hand, he has a tremendous jab and can put punches together effortlessly. More importantly, he still needs to work on his tendency to leave himself open on defense. Unfortunately, he never really had the chance to work on this Wednesday night since the Thai wasn?t a genuine offensive threat.
Tough, learning fights ? not lopsided – are what Suico needs to progress as a boxer. He just can?t go to all his fights expecting to win via one-punch routines. When in great shape, the likes of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Jesus Chavez can take Suico?s strongest punches and that?s something Suico must realize. If he can?t knock his opponent out and put him to sleep, he has to learn how to box wisely and use his ring smarts.
With his fourth straight OPBF title defense via knockout, what?s next for ?Komong Bato?? Barrera? Hmmm. Only two people are ranked higher than Suico by the WBC. Erik Morales is the ranked # 1 while Pacquiao is # 2. But with Morales indicating his desire to move up to the lightweight division (135 pounds) and Pacquiao busy with his off-the-ring concerns, Suico should logically be the next challenger for Barrera. However, Suico?s manager Joe Koizumi said a roadblock along the way is the title eliminator fight between Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez that?s taking place soon. Koizumi feels Suico should be Barrera?s next challenger or at least face the winner of the Chavez-Hernandez fight. Another option being considered is another OPBF title defense in Japan before that shot at the world title.
One more tune-up fight is definitely a must before Suico goes for the all the marbles. And this fight had better teach Suico a valuable boxing lesson. I still believe that Suico, along with Rodel Mayol, Ioka Gejon, Z Gorres and Rey Bautista, is one of the country?s best hopes to be the country?s next world champion. But they all have to learn the hard way that boxers don?t live on one punch alone. * * *
Time-out: Happy birthday to my sister Cynthia May! >>> Note: You can reach me at [email protected].
