AFTER being caught with a right straight that sent him down the canvass, LUZPROBA super bantamweight Rex Wa-o turned the tide and earns a second round stoppage of compatriot Danilo Gabisa in their 10-round encounter.
A vicious right sent Wa-o to the canvass halfway in the first round but that did not stop Wa-o from becoming the aggressor of the fight as he pushed Gabisa to the corner and landed several blows that prompted the referee to stop the bout in the second round with 1:47 remaining and win the WBC Asia Super bantamweight belt at the La Trinidad gym.
?I thought it was just a slip,? said Wa-o after the first knockdown in their bout scheduled for 10 rounds dubbed ?The Big Challenge? sanctioned by the Games and Amusement Board and hatched by the LTBM ? Naris- Highland Boxing Promotions.
?My shoes were slippery and I never felt any power from that punch,? admitted the 23-year-old Balaoa, Tadian, Mountain Province native who now trains at the Highland Boxing Gym in La Trinidad, Benguet.
It will be the seventh victory for Wa-o who has yet to be defeated in his young boxing career that includes six stoppage while handing Gabisay of the Manny Pacquiao Gym in Sampaloc, Manila his first defeat in five fights.
Wa-o will be the sixth Highland Gym boxer to win an international belt that includes WBC International flyweight champion Rey Migreno, WBO oriental bantamweight belt holder Dayer Gabutan, WBC Asia featherweight champion Alvin Tam, WBC Continental featherweight champion Ranel Ruco and WBC Continental light flyweight champion Jay-R Estremos.
?I knew I could beat him, I got the better power than him that?s why I kept charging until the referee stopped the fight,? added Wa-o in Ilocano.
Wa-o?s victory capped the night of the event with three Highland Boxers closing out their opponents who are visiting La Trinidad.
WBC continental light flyweight Estremos improve his record to 10 wins and five loss by stopping Arjet Caballes of Contender Gym Batangas to with a fourth round technical knock-out with 1:37 remaining of their scheduled eight round match?up.
Upcoming boxer Remuel Obidos, meanwhile, scored his eighth victory by demolishing of JC Caballes with several punches to the body that stopped the fight at 2:04 remaining in the second round while Kerovin Saclit scored a four round decider against Roy Velarde of Romano Stable in Valenzuela City.
