| |
|
Cataraja Defeats Heno by UD, captures OPBF superfly belt
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 11 Feb 2023
Undefeated Filipino super flyweight KJ Cataraja kept his unblemished record when he defeated former world title challenger and compatriot Edward Heno via unanimous decision in General Santos City Saturday night and captured the vacant OPBF super flyweight belt promoted by Sanman Boxing and streamed live on Sanman's social media account.
Judge Elmer Costillas had it 117-111, Brembot Dulalas 116-112 and Edgar Olalo 118-110 all in favor of Cataraja. Philboxing had it 116-112 for Cataraja.
The Cebu-native Cataraja (16-0-0, 13KOs) piled up points by outboxing and outsmarting Heno (15-2-6, 5KOs) most of the night as Heno found it hard to penetrate Cataraja's solid defensive stance. Heno found some success in round five when he connected on combinations but failed to follow it up in the succeeding rounds. In the 9th round however Heno connected with an uppercut that staggered Cataraja. Sensing his opportunity to seize the fight, Heno went in for the kill but Cataraja held on to survive the round. Heno tried to press on the action in the championship rounds but Cataraja recovered to coast to victory.
Cataraja who is one of Naoya Inoue's regular sparring partners, is inching closer for a title shot as he is highly ranked by the WBO at No. 6 and No. 13 by the IBF in the super flyweight division. With the OPBF belt now in his possession, Cataraja is expected to land in the top 15 of the WBC in their next ranking.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Smarts over power
By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
, Tue, 16 Sep 2025Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
, Tue, 16 Sep 2025THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
, Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
, Sat, 13 Sep 2025WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS: CANELO - 167.5 LBS., CRAWFORD - 167.5 LBS.
By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
