PINOY BOXERS FALL SHORT ON THE ROAD

Joey Canoy went down in his bid to win the vacant International Boxing Organization (IBO) light flyweight title against South African Hekkie Budler, when Canoy did not answer the bell at the start of the eighth round.

Canoy was fighting overseas for the first time and suffered his third loss in sixteen bouts. Budler, a former IBO and WBA world minimumweight champ, goes up to 31W-2L,10KO?s.

The fight was held at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. Canoy was knocked down in the seventh round.

In Adelaide Australia, Renoel Pael and Marco Demecillo of the RWS gym lost to the Moloney twins last Friday. Pael lost a unanimous verdict to Andrew Moloney while Demecillo also lost by unanimous decision to Jason Moloney.

Last January 31, another Cebu-based boxer, Anthony Sabalde, also had a unanimous points loss in Japan against Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBO Asia-Pacific lightweight ttile.

Ardin Diale lost in London, England yesterday in a WBC International flyweight title bout to Andrew Selby by unanimous decision. Diale won the vacant WBC Intl. title last December in Puerto Princesa, Palawan against countryman Michael Enriquez.

The only bright spots for Filipino boxers fighting overseas were in China, when Jerwin Ancajas retained his IBF super flyweight world crown against Jose Alfredo Rodriguez of Mexico in the Chinese New Year card in Macau and Dan Nazareno getting a majority decision win against Alimu Tuerson, the WBO Greater China superwelterweight titlist, in a non-title contest held in Shanghai last January 13.

The first major world shot for a Filipino boxer was on January 25, when Melvin Jerusalem lost to Thai Wanheng Menayothin (Chayaphon Moonsri), the reigning WBC minimumweight champion, by a razor-thin margin in Thailand.

Photo ? clockwise from top left ? Joey Canoy, Renoel Pael, Ardin Diale and Marco Demecillo.