GEN. SANTOS CITY?His left eye was swollen shut, grotesquely disfigured. But the punishment Kenny Demecillo endured was worth it after his hand was raised yet again, proving to everyone that the first one was no fluke.
Demecillo stopped Daryl Basadre in the eighth round of a bout worthy of ‘Fight of the Year’ honors in the featured fight of fast-rising GenSan-based promotional outfit Sanman Promotions’ Brawl at the Mall – “Revenge or Revalidation” at the Atrium of the Gaisano Mall of GenSan last Saturday night.
“It was a very good fight. We were trading punches. He’s (Basadre) a very good fighter,” said Demecillo in Cebuano after winning the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Asia-Pacific bantamweight belt.
The fight lived up to its billing as both Demecillo and Basadre came in to fight.
In the second round, a beautifully timed left uppercut dropped Demecillo to the canvas. The 23-year-old Basadre pounded on Demecillo but the latter refused to go down.
Demecillo and Basadre continued to trade leathers in the next few rounds.
On the seventh round, an overhand left by Demecillo rocked Basadre. The 23-year-old slugger from the Omega Boxing Gym of Cebu sensed that Basadre was dazed and attacked with a flurry of heavy punches. Demecillo, however, slipped and Basadre had a few seconds to recover.
Demecillo tried to finish a spent Basadre but he himself also lost steam.
The punishment continued in the eighth and Demecillo dropped Basadre with a combination of punches. Basadre beat the 10-count but the referee waved off the bout because the Sanman Gym stalwart was glassy-eyed and clearly out on his feet.
Basadre was exhausted after the fight and was rushed to the hospital. But he’s already out of harm’s way.
“I thought it was going to be stopped because he was not punching anymore,” said Demecillo of the seventh round. “I know he was going to get knocked out because he was already too dizzy.”
Demecillo beat Basadre by a controversial second round stoppage in their first meeting two months ago in GenSan.
“He’s going to rest and after two months he will return to the gym. It was a very impressive performance,” said Demecillo’s coach Christopher ‘Ping-Ping’ Tepora.
