FARENAS, THE OTHER FILIPINO HERO
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 10 Oct 2007
Covered in the limelight of Manny Pacquiao?s victory over Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera was the impressive win of featherweight Michael Farenas.
He was the only other Filipino who fought in the undercard of the ?Will to Win? rematch of the two boxing greats. The Sorsogon native fought Arturo Valenzuela, a veteran boxer from Mexico, in the early hours of the Las Vegas afternoon when there were still only a few seats of the Mandalay Bay Events Center being occupied.
But millions of Filipino fans witnessed on television how the unknown fighter castigated his Mexican opponent. Farenas scored the first knockdown in the first round with a thundering left. Uninterrupted blows in the second round prompted referee Russell Mora to stop the bout in an official time of 58 seconds in the second round of the fight that was scheduled for six rounds. Thus a second round technical knockout was officially declared over Valenzuela.
With the win, the left-handed Farenas improved his professional record to 18-2-2 with 16 knockouts while Valenzuela dropped to 19-9-1 with 17 knockouts. He is expected to receive a hero?s welcome when he arrives in his hometown in Gubat, Sorsogon. It will be a grand homecoming for a son who made a gigantic step in the world of boxing and giving pride and honor to the country and to their municipality.
The 23-year-old Farenas is a combatant of the stable of Gerry Penalosa and Kosuke Washio of Japan. The fight was the American debut of the top featherweight contender of the country. It was apparently the influence of Pe?alosa, being a close friend of The Pacman, which gave Farenas his break to show his wares in the glaring lights of ?The Entertainment Capital of the World.?
His only other international fight was in the famous Korakuen Hall of Tokyo, Japan when he won over Japanese Takuro Matsubara by unanimous decision last January 13, 2007. He picked up three other victories this year over Dondon Lapuz, Jeffrey Onate, and Jesar Ancajas, all via short distance, before the Las Vegas bout.
The Mexican, a well-known knockout specialist, was fresh from a second round knockout of undefeated Alfredo Montano last September 3, 2007. But he was silenced by the aggression and supremacy of Farenas. Though he fought in the United States three times before, it was the Mexican?s first taste of a battle in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nicknamed ?Aguilita,? Valenzuela hails from Tijuana, Mexico, the hometown of Erik Morales. Now 31 years old, he won the Pacific Coast bantamweight title over Rodolfo Geraldo by an 8th round TKO in 1997. He clinched the North American Boxing Association (NABA) bantamweight title over Edgar Jasso on points in 1998. The following year he lost to Roberto Lopez by TKO.
Two bouts involving Filipino boxers were canceled in Saturday?s ?Will to Win? card. Vernie Torres was scheduled to face Mexico?s Manuel Sarabia in a six-round superbantamweight encounter while US-born Filipina Ana ?Hurricane? Julaton was supposed to fight Hondi Hernandez in a four-round battle of female boxers. The bouts were cooled off because of the disparity of the weight between Julaton and Hernandez and the overweight of Torres. The co-promotion of Bob Arum and Oscar de la Hoya comprised 66 rounds in seven pairings.
Top photo: The referee raises Farenas' hands in victory after the Sorsogon native overpowered his opponent in the second round of last Saturday's bout in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Chris Cozzone / FightNews.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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