A GREAT fight needs both fighters wanting to take each others? heads off. Yesner Talavera obviously didn?t want any of that and kept on running around the ring the whole night, giving Albert Pagara a an easy unanimous decision victory in the main event of Pinoy Pride 35 – ?Stars of the Future? last Saturday night at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
Talavera failed to fulfill his promise of giving the fans a great show and also giving Pagara a lesson in boxing as he was on survival mode the whole night. Pagara tried to lure Talavera to trade leathers with him by either dropping his hands or urging him to come near. But the 21-year-old Nicaraguan wouldn?t take the bait and was more contented circling the ring and evading Pagara?s best shots.
The 22-year-old Pagara nearly ended the night in the seventh with a right straight to the body that dropped Talavera. He, however, managed to survive and finish the 12-round bout for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Inter-Continental super bantamweight crown.
World title shot
?I promise that it will be more fun and the fans will enjoy my next fight. I really wanted to knock him out but I couldn?t land the knockout shot,? said a clearly disappointed Pagara. ?But I really learned a lot from that fight and how to fight opponents who keep on running.?
The scorecards were 120-107 twice and 119-108.
Pagara remained unbeaten with a 26-0 slate along with 18 knockouts, while Talavera dropped to 15-4-1 with four knockouts.
ALA Gym founder Antonio Lopez Aldeguer, who has groomed these kids to become champions inside the ring, has seen. Pagara polish his skills since he was a young fighter.
?He fought a very mature fight,? he said. ?I think he?s ripe to fight for a world title.?
ALA Promotions? direction for Pagara is either the WBO or International Boxing Federation (IBF). The current IBF titleholder is Carl Frampton, who just beat Scott Quigg yesterday, while Nonito Donaire Jr. currently holds the WBO title.
Pagara is bound for the US in his next fight as he headlines ALA Promotions? next event in the US in San Francisco, California.
?I?m just waiting for a world title. I?ll fight anybody for any belt,? said Pagara.
Mark Magsayo (13-0, 10 KOs) also walked away with a unanimous verdict against Mexican prospect Eduardo Montoya (17-5-1, 13 KOs) and claimed the WBO Youth featherweight crown.
?I wasn?t impressed with my win. He was always running and I had to chase him,? said Magsayo.
Magsayo is booked in the Donaire Jr. vs. Zsolt Bedak fight on April 23 at the Cebu City Sports Center possibly against one-time world title challenger Chris Avalos.
Former amateur standout Kevin Jake Cataraja (3-0, 2 KOs) walked away with a unanimous verdict over Mexican Tony Rodriguez (3-2, 1 KO).
All three judges gave Cataraja the fight with scores of 78-74, 79-73 and 80-72.
Melvin Jerusalem (9-0, 7 KOs) used his speed and youthful vigor to beat former world champion Florante Condes (27-10-1, 23 KOs) by majority decision. Two judges had it with identical scores of 78-74, while the other saw it as a 76-76 draw.
Jeo Santisima (9-2, 8 KOs) showed a lot of heart after surviving an early knockdown to stop slugger Marco Demecillo (21-5-1, 16 KOs) in the sixth.
Santisima kissed the canvas after getting tagged with a right uppercut. He, however, survived and stopped Demecillo with a wicked body shot in the sixth.
Elmo Traya (11-1, 8 KOs) defeated crafty veteran Romeo Jakosalem (16-12-1, 8 KOs) by majority decision, 78-74, 77-75 and 76-76, while three-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist Muhammad Ridhwan (1-0) had a successful transition to the pro ranks with a majority decision over Melchor Roda (3-1, 3 Kos).
Former national amateur champion Esneth Domingo (2-0, 2 KOs) also stopped Vic Ejercito (0-2).
