by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Two grandsons of the late world junior lightweight champion and Hall of Famer Gabriel”Flash” Elorde won in a fine boxing card that was one of the highlights of the 15th Annual “Flash” Elord Awards and Banquet of Champions at the historic Manila Hotel.
WBO Asia Pacific super featherweight champion Juan Martin “Bai” Elorde, a southpaw like his grandfather with his identical nickname successfully defended his title against resilient Japanese challenger Hirotsugu Yamamoto but didn’t look too impressive while younger brother Juan Miguel “Mig” Elorde won the vacant WBO Asia Pacific super bantamweight title with a fine performance against Thailand’s rugged Tabthong Tor Buamas.
30 year old Juan Martin appeared hell-bent on going for a knockout and faded in the late rounds although he was clearly the more aggressive fighter and did connect with some solid body shots but couldn’t take Yamamoto out,
All three judges – Jerrold Tomeldan, Nowel Haduca and engineer Greg Ortega turned in identical 115-122 scorecards.
With the win “Bai” Elorde improved to 17-1-1 with 7 knockouts while the 31 year old Yamamoto dropped to 16-11-1 with 2 knockouts.
Juan Miguel Elorde who is a fine boxer but one who lacks power scored a near shutout win over the rugged 27 year old Tor Buamas who ended the bout with a welt under his right eye as a result of the stinging left jabs of Elorde and some nifty combinations.
Judges Fernando Batistil and Carlo Baluyut had “Migs” Elorde the winner by identical 99-91 scorecards while the third judge Gil Co gave all ten rounds to Elorde for a 100-90 shutout.
The 28 year old Elorde improved his record to 18-1 with 9 knockouts while the 27 year old Tor Buamas fell to 14-3 with 12 knockouts.
