By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Hard-hitting Filipino southpaw Jimrex Jaca was unlucky to lose by a 7th round TKO to Japan’s Shinya Iwabuchi in Japan Friday.
Jaca who is ranked No. 5 junior welterweight by the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation succumbed to Iwabuchi who is ranked No. 7.
A report from Japan by Jaca's trainer Frank Albia said it was a painful loss because Jaca had floored the Japanese fighter and was leading on points when he got caught with a good punch and was groggy, forcing the Japanese referee to stop the fight.
Jaca, who once gave Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez a furious battle before he got careless and was knocked out was not dropped by Iwabuchi but was on the verge of going down when the fight was waved off.
