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Philippines, 24 Nov 2024 |
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VERANO WINS RP SUPERBANTAM CROWN By Salvador Lopez PhilBoxing.com Sun, 19 Aug 2007 Jake Verano finally snatched the RP Super-bantamweight Title when he scored a unanimous decision victory over long-reigning champion Alex Escaner in the main event of an excitement laden boxing card last night at the Elorde Sports Center, Sucat, Paraňaque. Two quick knockdowns in the early rounds and a strong finish enabled Verano to finally win the coveted crown which earlier eluded him when his first attempt for the title in April of this year was frustrated when the fight many believed he won ended in a controversial majority decision. It was not smooth sailing for Verano, however, as he had to survive a scare in the 6th round when a powerful left jab and a right straight combination from Escaner dropped him to the canvas flat on his back. It was only by sheer guts and superior conditioning that he avoided being stopped in the said round. A cautious start of the fight revealed the fight plan of both fighters, Verano using the ring much and Escaner stalking Verano. Action began to heat up midway in the first round when a Verano left hand clipped Escaner to the canvas. Unhurt, Escaner came back strong and scored some crisp uppercuts toward the end of the round. In the second round, Escaner continued to pressure Verano scoring some heavy shots including a big uppercut that buckled the latter’s knees. Escaner had another successful round in the third hurting Verano with heavy bombs to the body as Verano was content in throwing occasional crosses that were landing on the face of Escaner but not doing any real damage. Escaner was dominating early in the fourth round scoring with vicious body shots until a Verano sneaky uppercut to his abdomen dropped him for the second time, probably helped by the clash of heads which occurred simultaneously as Verano was delivering the shot. The fifth round was close with Escaner having the upper-hand early in the round and Verano finishing with crisp combinations to the head of Escaner. The sixth proved to be the eventful round which may have decided the outcome of the fight. Verano who fights with hands held high had a lapse in his defense leaving himself open to a vicious jab-straight combination unleashed by Escaner. Immediately, Verano hit the canvas with his whole 122 pound frame dropping in a big thud. So hard the knockdown was that while observing the fight, this writer thought that Verano would no longer be able beat the count. Nonetheless, Verano, after steadying himself on the floor for a while, managed to get back on his feet and surprisingly, decided to mix it up with Escaner. Luckily for Verano, the strategy worked as Escaner willingly obliged to engage in wild exchanges that had both boxers missing badly. It would have been wiser for Escaner to patiently set up the still dazed Verano for a kill. Things did not help Escaner’s cause when Verano’s mouthpiece fell out on the floor giving him more time to recover his senses and had to be retrieved and replaced in his mouth even as Referee Warren Jaro warned him for the said infraction. Verano survived the round and Escaner showed some signs that he had punched himself out. The seventh round saw both fighters coasting after draining themselves from the previous round. Escaner probably won this round courtesy of a two-punch combination he landed early in the round after which no real actions followed. Rounds eight to eleven produced little action but seem to have favored Verano who was occasionally landing some crisp shots on the less-busy Escaner. It looked like Escaner would now need a knockout in the last round to salvage his title. The twelfth and final round saw Verano coming out strong dishing out combinations that put the exhausted Escaner on the verge of a knockout. This last round surge by Verano thus capped a victory that earned him the RP Super-bantam title and give his Valencia Bukidnon stable something to brag about. The judges scorecards were: Ricardo Canlas and Narciso Martinez had it 116-109 while the third judge, Eduardo Nobleza scored the bout 117-111, all for Verano. The supporting main event fought at super-featherweight limit between Victor Man-on and Judefil Aclo was never lacking in action. The fight was expected not to last the distance and it looked like it may end that way when Man-on decked Aclo in the very first round with a two-punch combination to the head. In contrast to his recent fights, Man-on was fighting better, appearing to have a fight plan and setting up his punches this time. The second round began with Aclo controlling the action using his stinging jabs and longer reach to keep Man-on at bay. However, in the course of exchanges, a sneaky right uppercut by Man-on dropped Aclo for the second time. Moments later, another Man-on combination had Aclo tasting the canvas yet again. It was only the bell that saved Aclo from a possible knock-out as Man-on was poised to score another knockdown which would have resulted in a TKO following the “three-knockdown-rule”. Aclo regained his strength to comeback strong in the third round dominating a now visibly tired Man-on. A one point deduction was also slapped by Referee Virgilio Garcia on Man-on for hitting Aclo after the sound of the bell ending the round. From then on, the tides were turning to and fro between the two boxers in a slambang affair that produced a lot of exchanges as well as hotly contested rounds which were difficult to score and keeping the audience in attendance on their feet. Incidentally, Aclo was deducted a point for a cut suffered by Man-on in the sixth round from an accidental headbutt. Barring any knockout, Man-on appeared to have insured his victory by winning the eight round properly setting up his punches and scoring well with well timed combinations. The last two rounds were easily for Aclo staggering Man-on a number of times and had the latter on the verge of a knockout. Unfortunately, Aclo’s surge was not enough to fully overturn the scorecards built on the early knockdowns he suffered. In the end, Man-on emerged the victor via a split decision with two judges scoring 96-89, and 96-91, respectively in his favor and the third judge having it 93-92 in favor of Aclo. The difference in the scorecards was not surprising considering that there were a number of close rounds which were difficult to score. The other bouts in the 9-fight card were equally entertaining and worth mentioning: Tata Remuga won a 6-round unanimous decision over Jaypee Ignacio in a super-featherweight fight; Joel Rafols scoring a unanimous decision win over Jeno Quilitar in their 6-round flyweight fight; Ericson Origenes winning via a 2nd round TKO over Jeffrey Laruan in a scheduled 6-round super-feather fight after scoring a knockdown in the 1st round and being decked himself at the start of the second round; Mario Suson defeating Rey Aclo by unanimous decision in a 4-round miniflyweight fight; Flamboyant Jay Solmiano winning over Mike Rosal via a unanimous decision in 4 rounds at a rare 140-lb limit; Ryan Origenes escaping a scary first round where he was downed once and staggering all over the ring, came back strong to defeat a very exciting boxer in Ricardo Tol via a majority decision in a 4-round junior flyweight fight; and Rey Demingoy defeating Marlon Jawom in a 4-round super-flyweight fight. Luckily for the organizers, there was no award for the best fight of the evening. Otherwise, with the quality of fights, selecting the best one would indeed be too close to call. A real treat to the spectators around. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salvador Lopez.  |
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