Philippines, 15 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Night of fireworks


PhilBoxing.com




In some 30 years in the boxing business, WBO Asia Pacific chairman Leon Panoncillo said he’d never witnessed a more exciting main event than what went down at the NuSTAR Convention Center, Cebu, last Saturday. Panoncillo, 59, is a Hawaiian of Filipino descent and from his Bangkok base, coordinates the WBO activities in the Asia Pacific region, often serving as fight supervisor at ringside aside from his duties as a sanctioning executive.

“Amazing action from start to finish,” said Panoncillo after Japanese challenger Ryuto Owan rebounded from a pair of mandatory eight-counts to halt Korea’s defending WBO Global featherweight champion Jeong Seon Kang with a second left in the ninth round. “Congratulations to promoter Dr. Winley de la Fuente for putting on an exciting show that fans will never forget.”
Dr. de la Fuente, who holds a doctorate in business administration from the University of Cebu, is well-known for staging cockfight derbies and made his debut as a boxing promoter in the event called “Binukbukay Sa Sugbo.” He plans a follow-up to the show in October. “It will be bigger and better,” Dr. de la Fuente said. “I know more about feathers than fists, having promoted derbies in the past. This was my first step into boxing, a challenge to bring something new, something big for our community to experience a top-tier event that will inspire and empower us.”

In his words, Dr. de la Fuente, 50, partnered with NuSTAR Resort and Casino “to celebrate not just boxing but a new chapter of premier entertainment in Cebu, the perfect venue to reflect the caliber of world-class boxing.” From the weigh-in to fight night, the glitter of a Las Vegas-like showcase was evident.

The fight between Kang and Owan was a barnburner. Kang, 23, is ranked No. 4 by WBO and was promised a crack at the world crown by Teiken’s big boss Akihiko Honda if he retained the WBO Global title. There hasn’t been a Korean world champion since WBC featherweight champion Chi In Jin in 2006. With over 60 Korean world titlists in history, it’s a wonder why no one has followed in the footsteps of legendary champions like Chang Jung Koo, Myung Woo Yuh and Kim Ki Soo. Owan, 26, belongs to the same stable as former four-division world ruler Kazuto Ioka and is a rising star with a 13-2 record, including eight KOs.

Against Owan, Kang started aggressively but had difficulty finding his range as the Japanese’s length was a problem. Blood trickled out of Kang’s nose in the third round then in the fourth, he staggered Owan with a right to the jaw and scored a flash knockdown. Owan battled back and in the seventh, dropped Kang who tumbled backwards into a somersault. That same round, Kang floored Owan and the crowd burst into a frenzy. Then, Kang began to tire and couldn’t cope with Owan’s work rate. In the ninth, Owan pressured Kang into the ropes and flailed away with both fists churning. Thai referee Surat Soikrachang stepped in to rescue Kang who was virtually defenseless. Medics attended to Kang in his corner and strapped an oxygen mask to facilitate his breathing. The Korean was brought to a nearby hospital for a CT-Scan and later discharged. The loss dropped Kang’s record to 20-2-2, with 11 KOs.

Photo (L-R): Promoter Winley dela Fuente, Cebu City mayor Raymond Garcia, Thai referee Surat Soikrachang, Ryotu Owan and WBO's Leon Panoncillo, Jr.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline 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 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Crawford to defy odds?
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS: CANELO - 167.5 LBS., CRAWFORD - 167.5 LBS.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • BELFAST: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Canoy cancels title fight due to child’s death
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Vietnam’s Pool Revolution: Hanoi Open Pool Championship
    , Sat, 13 Sep 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.