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Philippines, 24 Feb 2026 |
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DONAIRE, 'BOOMBOOM', BANAL WIN BOUTS OVER MEXICANS By Salven L. Lagumbay PhilBoxing.com Mon, 03 Dec 2007  It was a big day for Philippine boxing as top Filipino prizefighters showed class and firepower in dispatching of their Mexican counterparts both here and in the United States. IBF and IBO flyweight king Nonito Donaire looked like a pound-for-pound candidate with his easy dismantling of mandatory challenger Luis Maldonado via eighth-round technical knockout yesterday at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Donaire, using his superb skills and tremendous firepower, sent Maldonado down in the seventh before stepping on the gas pedal in the eighth, prompting referee Charles Dwyer to intervene at the 1:16 mark of the round. The Fil-American fighter started hot at the get-go, before drewing crimson on Maldonado's face in the second round after a barrage of punches against the Mexican. With the win, Donaire improves to 19-1, 12 KO's and gives him the needed recognition as the legitimate king of the flyweight division. The 25-year-old champ wants to fight any of the big names in the superfly and bantamweight division, namely Jorge Arce, Cristian Mijares or Fernando Montiel. 'BOOM BOOM', BANAL VICTORIOUS OVER MEXICANS In front of a star-studded crowd that included former President Joseph Estrada at the Araneta Coliseum, Rey 'Boom Boom' Bautista showed newfound movements and defensive abilities with a unanimous decision over Antonio 'Barrio' Meza in the main event of yesterday's "Payback" card yesterday put up by Third Force Promotions. Undefeated young prospect AJ 'Bazooka' Banal, however, was brilliant with a ninth-round annihilation of Mexican superfly champ Jovanny Soto. Bautista and Meza engaged in an action-packed war, with each fighter throwing and eating punches from each other. At the end, however, Bautista proved to be the better fighter as he threw the more quality punches. Judge Salven Lagumbay saw the bout 117-111, Jonathan Davis had it 116-112, while Atty. Epie Almeda penned it 118-110 all in favor of the Boholano boxing sensation. It was Bautista's first win since suffering a shock first-round knockout loss at the hands of reigning WBO superbantam champ Daniel Ponce De Leon at the Boxing World Cup in Sacramento. The win improved Bautista's record to 24 wins, 1 loss with 17 KO's. Top photo: Bautista (R) tags Meza with a left straight.  AJ Banal (C) sends Soto to the canvas in the 9th frame.  Boom-Boom and Donaire at the ALA gym where both trained for their respective fights. In the chief support, AJ 'Bazooka' Banal was most impressive when he stopped Mexican Jovanny Soto at 2:15 mark of the ninth round. The Cebuano fighter looked brilliant all throughout, gamely engaging with Soto but not allowing the visiting fighter to land any serious blows. The undefeated 18-year-old fighter, who is being groomed by international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz as the country's next world champion, improves to 16-0-1, 13 KO's. Milan Milendo also successfully defended his WBO Asia Pacific minimumweight title with a unanimous decision win over Indonesian Jack Amisa via scores of 117-110, 118-109 and 117-110. RP bantam champ Michael Domingo also prevailed by unanimous decision over Tanzanian Anthony Mathias. Juan Martin 'Bai' Elorde, the grandson of the great Flash Elorde, also kept his unblemished record with a unanimous decision win over Cris Dollosin. ALA Boy Joseph Omanz TKO'd Albert Cesa with two big lefts at 1:33 of the second round. In a big upset, unheralded Richie Mepranum took a split decision win over RP flyweight champ Rocky Fuentes in their 8-round non-title battle. Anton Olarte decisioned Jason Pagara, while Jesson Perater also decisioned Marron Sanchez. Cebu officials who graced the event were Cebu City Vice-Mayor Michael Rama, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and Cebu City Councilor Jack Jakosalem. MORE NOTES. From Councilor Jack Jakosalem: "Four things we learned today: 1. Donaire is for real (some thought his victory over Darchinyan was a lucky punch), 2. BoomBoom has changed for the better, 3. AJ Banal is a Bazooka in full auto, 4. Fighters who train in Cebu are the best!"...The stars who graced at the Bautista-Meza fight seemed to outnumber those who watched the Pacquiao-Larios fight. Difference was that those at yesterday's fight were decision-makers like businessmen and top political leaders, while those at the Pacquiao gig were showbiz personalities...Nonito Donaire, who is fully backed by Arthro Kontra Arthritis, is planning to fly back to the Philippines to enjoy a grand vacation after his win over Luis Maldonado. Something he could not do while doing his spartan training at the ALA Gym. For those who had been inviting the Donaires but got turned down due to training, be ready...ABC-5 enjoyed more than 40 percent viewership share during the yesterday's "Payback" card, which I am told was the highest in its history. There were also more than 7,000 paying spectators at the Araneta Coliseum, which erupted into a frenzy after Donaire's TKO'd Maldonado on big jumbo screens..."There definitely was no mismatch in those fights yesterday at the Araneta!" said an ecstatic Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim, citing that a detractor can now start eating his own words...Kudos to promoter Noli Eala and Third Force Promotions for what was easily one of the best boxing shows, if not the best, held in Manila. This time, visiting journalists did not have to worry where to get their media accreditations, and were treated with dignity... Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.  |
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