By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Fresh from a sensational second round TKO of Eilon Kedem (9-2-4, 6 KO’s), Filipino southpaw Eden Sonsona (17-5, 4 KO’s) won the vacant Philippine bantamweight title with a spectacular one-punch knockout of Monico Laurente from the Johnny Elorde stable in a fight card in honor of the late Rod Nazario at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City on Saturday, December 12.
Sonsona began aggressively and caught Laurente by surprise, peppering him with rapid-fire combinations before a perfectly timed left straight flush on the jaw dropped Laurente flat on his back while referee Virgilio Garcia counted him out.
As Laurente lay motionless on the canvas a concerned Sonsona stood over him as doctors from the Games and Amusements Board jumped into the ring and helped revive Laurente who was helped to his corner. A few minutes later he walked to his dressing room on his own .
Sonsona showed remarkable hand-speed and the kind of punching power he never had before in an amazing turnaround. His confidence has been clearly boosted by the break given him by pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao who had requested Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to include him on the “Fire Power” undercard at the MGM Grand last November 14 in which he hammered Kedem into submission in two rounds after dropping him twice.
With the win Sonsona improved to 18-5 with 5 knockouts while Laurente dropped to 10-6 with 1 knockout.
In a Philippine super flyweight title fight, champion Danilo Pena, also of the Rod Nazario boxing gym, retained his title with a unanimous twelve round decision over No.2 ranked contender Marvin Tampus of the Rex “Wakee” Salud stable.
In a waterfront brawl in which Pena was deducted a point by referee Ferdinand Estrella in the 9th round for constant use of his head, the penalty hardly made a difference as the rugged southpaw won handily on the scorecards of all three judges.
Judges Gil Co and Atty. Alex Tapdasan had Pena the winner by a margin of 117-110 while the third judge Edwin Sese scored the fight a much closer 115-112 also for Pena.
In a ten-round special attraction which was nothing special in fact, referee Virgilio Garcia did the right thing by stopping the bout between Dan Nazareno Jr and South Korea’s Jung-Hoon Yang at 1:59 of the sixth round as the Korean simply kept backing away and hardly threw any punches.
Nazareno connected with some solid shots to the body and head but couldn’t drop the Korean who was supposedly ranked No. 1 light middleweight by the Korean Boxing Commission. While he did have the physique the Korean hardly bothered Nazareno.
Referee Garcia warned the Korean’s corner before the start of round six that if he didn’t show any inclination to fight he would call a halt which is exactly what he did at 1:59 of the sixth round..
In a junior lightweight ten rounder veteran Joan De Guia of the Ramil Romano stable returned to the ring after a layoff only to be robbed of a well-deserved victory against Ronald Pontillas.
De Guia caught the southpaw Pontillas time and again with his right straight and connected with flurries that were often unanswered and clearly won at least six rounds but except for judge Greg Ortega who had De Guiao the winner 96-94 the two other judges saw it differently.Antonio Magus scored the fight an even at 95-95 and Ramon Esperanzate inexplicably had Pontillas the winner 96-94 resulting in a split draw decision that raised a howl of protest and boos from fight fans.
No. 1 Luzon Pro Boxing Association super bantamweight Allan Tanada dropped Japan’s Tadamasa Takashima with a solid left hook in the opening round of a scheduled eight round bout and was dominating the game Japanese when a head-butt by the Filipino opened a cut on the eye of Takashima who was unable to continue with the fight declared a technical draw at 16 seconds of the second round.
Tanada retained his unbeaten record which now stands at 6-0-1 with 2 knockouts while Takashima who was reportedly the Japan Boxing Commission’s No.1 ranked super bantamweight dropped to 7-2-1 with 4 knockouts.
In other bouts bantamweight Rey Sumapig won by a unanimous decision over Richard Pumicpic with judges Narciso Martinez and Henry Viernes turning in identical 79-73 scorecards and Greg Ortega scoring it for Sumapig by an 80-72 shutout.
Undefeated super bantamweight Randy Migrino of the Highland Boxing Stable of La Trinidad, Benguet figured in a majority draw with Gadwin Tubigon in an eight round bout while Dennis Tubieron won by a unanimous decision in a six round clash with Ronnie Pelonia while Joan Imperial also a six round unanimous decision over Rodelito Baronia in a four round light flyweight bout.
The fights at the Ynares Center which were graced by the presence of former Rizal governor Casimiro “Ito” Ynares and former Pasig City Mayor Mario Raymundo will be telecast on the weekly boxing show “In This Corner” hosted by veteran anchorman Sev Sarmenta and respected boxing analyst Moy Lainez on Sundays at 7:00 p.m. over NBN Channel 4.