Philippines, 04 Jul 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Second Overtime: Another golden chance slips past Jhack Tepora


PhilBoxing.com




CHICAGO - Jhack Tepora had no business losing this fight.

His opponent was a recycled, calcifying 35-year old journeyman who had lost his previous three fights by knockout and had been inactive for nearly 15 months before getting called in for a payday.

The tale of the tape revealed that Tepora was 11 years younger at age 24. Four-and-a-half inches taller at 5-foot-6, plus an extra one-inch in reach that solidified his advantage in length.

In basketball parlance, this was a gimme.

Point blank. Uncontested. Lay-up.

And that was why Bovada, a preeminent sports betting website, installed Tepora as a prohibitive minus 1800 favorite, which meant a bettor must risk $1800 to win $100. A $100 wager on his heavy underdog opponent would have yielded an $850 windfall.

This match-up appeared as sure as death and taxes.

But The Grinch, disguised as a shirtless Oscar Escandon, stole Tepora's Christmas with a stunning first round knockout victory at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, a transportation and convention hub some 37 miles from Los Angeles, California.

So the human trampoline that was supposed to catapult Jhack unto the top tier of the featherweight division turned into a Colombian trap that hijacked a Cebuano fighter's career that once was unblemished and swollen with promise.

It happened with barely over a minute through the opening stanza. While pinned in the ropes, Tepora took a perfectly placed left hook to the body that pierced his liver.

After a delayed reaction, Jhack crashed to the canvas. And while he was in superb physical condition, the blow, which was delivered short and snappy, proved to be lethal.

A liver shot, according to scifighting.com, makes the blood vessels dilate, causing the blood pressure to drop dramatically and incapacitate the body. In some instances. when the punch lands exceedingly hard, the victim loses consciousness.

Tepora was wide awake while he was on all fours, but like a Ferrari stuck in rush hour traffic, he couldn't move and was counted out at the 1:40 mark.

"Na igo ko, sir." (I got hit, sir), he told me over the phone moments after the debacle, his voice fading with sadness.


Photos: Jhack Tepora with his supporters in Los Angeles.

After dinner with his team and a visit to the Nike store in Rancho Cucamonga city to settle his emotions and clear his mind, Jhack spoke to me again and wished to relay his apologies to his fans for falling short.

The tragedy that struck Jhack not only speaks to the cruelty of combat sports. It also validated the randomness of misfortune and how it can abruptly ruin a superior combatant's best-laid plans.

And while sports is merciless, it can also be forgiving.

Manny Pacquiap Promotions president Sean Gibbons, a former boxer, felt Tepora's pain and quickly picked up his "devastated" fighter's deflated morale.

"Terrible. Caught with a liver shot," Gibbons messaged me. He still has faith in Tepora, who fell to 23-1 with 17 KOs, and said he will work for a rematch.

"Sh#t happened. One fight doesn't change a career," added Gibbons.

Tepora has had an awful 12-month run, beginning with a missed weight for a featured bout in the undercard of the Pacquiao-Broner fight in January and ending with this giant upset in December.

The good news is that the ugly streak can't continue with a few more days before 2019 is peeled off the calendar.

A new year dawns.

New hope.

New beginning.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Homer D. Sayson.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • The Second Rise of Jesse Espinas
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 04 Jul 2025
  • Boxing Golden Age Comparison - Philippines and Japan
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Fri, 04 Jul 2025
  • Kittipong, Magdalena, Kim, Kritiphak Claim Wins in Brico Santig's Show in Bangkok
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 04 Jul 2025
  • Kremlev, Crawford, Fury Launch IBA's Golden Era of International Boxing
    , Fri, 04 Jul 2025
  • International Master Angelo Young stays on course for GM norm
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 04 Jul 2025
  • Robby Gonzales and Yoseline Perez Progress to Semifinals at World Boxing Cup: Astana 2025
    , Fri, 04 Jul 2025
  • Fireworks Ahead: Magsayo vs Mata in Prelims of Pacquiao vs Barrios
    By Carlos Costa, , Thu, 03 Jul 2025
  • Japan's Boxing Golden Age Remains Limited to the Lower Weights
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Thu, 03 Jul 2025
  • No issues with fight ref
    By Joaquin Henson, , Thu, 03 Jul 2025
  • Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaimàn: Grand Muay Thai event in Verona
    By Mauricio Sulaimán, , Thu, 03 Jul 2025
  • Morelle McCane and Rene Camacho Advance to Quarterfinals of World Boxing Cup: Astana 2025
    , Thu, 03 Jul 2025
  • 3 Division World Champion & Hall of Famer Marco Antonio Barrera Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13, in Las Vegas
    , Thu, 03 Jul 2025
  • ESPN Original Series The Fight Life Returns for Season Two on July 7
    , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • TOP-RATED LIGHTWEIGHT KO ARTIST ARMANDO MARTINEZ RABI RETURNS
    , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • Amazing Muay Thai WBC Festival 2025
    , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • Borromeo Leads Winners of the Philippine Speedcubing Championships
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • What If Pacquiao Defeats Barrios?
    By Ralph Rimpell, , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • Team USA Earns Three Wins on Day Two of World Boxing Cup: Astana 2025
    , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • Women's Boxing Champion Signs with Combate Global, Still Aims For WBC Absolute Gold
    , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • Sanman Boxing Presents Hard-Hitting Prospect Abubakar Yanon Set to Challenge for Philippine Boxing Federation Flyweight Title in Malungon, Sarangani Province
    , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • Boxing Returns to Tropicana Atlantic City, July 25
    , Wed, 02 Jul 2025
  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 30 June 2025: Zurdo Outpoints Dorticos, Keeps WBA/WBO Cruiser Titles; Mbilli Stops Sulecki in 1; Wins by Kuroki, Wilder and Jake Paul
    By Eric Armit, , Tue, 01 Jul 2025
  • IIEE Titans secured Finals in BPBL, IIEE Chessmasters retain on top level in Bundesliga
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Tue, 01 Jul 2025
  • MARIO BARRIOS LAS VEGAS MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES
    , Tue, 01 Jul 2025
  • CATTERALL AND EUBANK LAY THEIR 'CARDS ON THE TABLE' AHEAD OF MANCHESTER SHOWDOWN
    , Tue, 01 Jul 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.