By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Filipinos celebrated a twin-kill in boxing when Dindo Castanares scored a sensational fourth round knockout victory over Panama’s Guillermo “Pantera” Mosquera to win the junior welterweight title of the fledgling World Boxing Foundation at the time Ring Magazine featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao was warning up in his dressing room prior to demolishing Fahsan 3K Battery in four rounds before a wildly cheering throng of over 30,000 hero-worshippers at The Fort in Taguig, Saturday night.
Castanares, nicknamed “Diesel” because of his tendency to start slow and then gradually pick up the tempo changed tactics before a stunned crowd of New Zealand fight fans at the United Technological Institute Gym by starting aggressively and hammering the veteran Mosquera with vicious body shots and stinging jabs. Boxing judge and journalist Salven Lagumbay reported that referee Ignatius Missailidis called a halt at 1:47 of the fourth round after Mosquera pleaded with referee to call a halt when Castanares decked him with a solid shot to the mid-section.
The win was sweeter for the 25 year old Castanares who was coming off a third round KO loss to Aswin Tjabuy last July 6 when he entered the ring while suffering from dehydration due to loose bowel movements which weakened him considerably. A product of the ALA Boxing Gym of the respected Cebu boxing patron and producer of champions Tony Aldeguer, Castanares improved to 15-3-1 with 11 knockouts while Mosquera who was coming off sensational back-to-back first round TKO wins over Peter Warren on August 5 and Ioana Tana Tooala on Mach 25 when Mosquera won the vacant New Zealand junior welterweight crown, dropped to 39-6-1 with 19 KO’s.
Although Mosquera is 40 years old he was considered the favorite against Castanares because of his impressive wins recently and the fact that he took Lovemore N’Dou twelve rounds before dropping a decision and had earlier won the Pan Asia Boxing Association light welterweight title defeating the Philippines Fernando Sagrado.
