TEPORA WINS TOUGHEST FIGHT AGAINST KOMANISI WITH SENSATIONAL 2ND ROUND KNOCKOUT
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 23 Sep 2017
CEBU ? Undefeated rising Filipino featherweight star Jhack 'El Capital' Tepora (21-0-0, 16KOs) has put the boxing world on notice after his sensational second round knockout of highly regarded South African power puncher Lusanda Komanisi (21-4-0, 18KOs) at the Orient Theatre in East London, South Africa Friday night (Saturday dawn in Manila) to win the vacant WBO Inter-continental featherweight title.
The heavy handed Tepora, 24, and Komanisi, nicknamed 'Schoolboy', exchanged bombs after bombs as long as the fight lasted until a short right cross by Tepora hit Komanisi's left temple that sent the South African literally flying, with both his feet up in the air, on the way to the canvas. The referee stopped the contest when Komanisi fell to the canvas again after trying to beat the count.
Tepora, a bemedalled amateur, moved to featherweight after winning regional titles in the super bantamweight division where he captured the WBO Asia-Pacific Youth and the WBO Oriental titles. He will now enter the top ten WBO rankings in the featherweight division joining Filipino contenders Mark Magsayo (No. 2), Genesis Servania (No. 4) and Albert Pagara (No. 12). The champion of the division is Mexican-American Oscar Valdez who will defend his title against Servania today in Tucson, Arizona.
?We got a call from South Africa offering Jhack to take on Komanisi,? James Osorio of OPSI, Tepora's handlers, told Philboxing earlier. ?We accepted the fight because we want to know how Jhack would perform on the road. That's a test to see if he really has it. If he wins against Komanisi then we will start positioning him up for a world title.?
Komanisi's handlers had the same mentality. Ayanda Matiti, Komanisi's promoter, told Dispatch Live before the fight: ?We will have to make sure that he [Komanisi] engages in bouts against formidable opponents to accelerate his title conquest... We know of the danger posed by Filipino boxers but we believe that Komanisi has to beat these kind of boxers if he wants to challenge for a world title.?
Komanisi earlier had two fights with tough Filipino stylish boxer Roli Gasca, winning the first by split decision and the rematch by 5th round knockout. Both fights were for the IBO world featherweight title.
In a battle of two rising prospects and two power punchers, it was the visiting Tepora who came out with a scintillating performance. He will now come home a conquering hero and the whole boxing world opens up for him.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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