FILIPINO BOXERS SCORE SWEEP IN BEIJING
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 30 Sep 2017
BEIJING, CHINA - Filipino Mark Anthony Barriga punched a shutout against Wittawas Bassapean of Thailand to claim the vacant WBO International minimumweight title in an international fight card held at the Heyuan Royal Garden Hotel.
Barriga, a 2012 London Olympian, was almost untouchable throughout the fight. His high skill level enabled him to target Bassapean with ease and he would spin away or block punches when the Thai managed to pin him on the ropes.
Judges Edward Ligas, Martino Redona and Surat Soikrachang all scored it 100-90.
In what was the best fight of the night, Ronnie Baldonado of the Philippines and Iwan Zoda of Indonesia engaged in an intense close quarter hand to hand combat until Zoda wilted from Baldonado?s booming body shots.
The Indon used well placed punches to pepper Baldonado but in the sixth, a series of rib punches sent Zoda down. Referee Surat Soikrachang reached ten at the 0:49 mark.
Baldonado retains his WBO interim Oriental flyweight belt and scored his second stoppage win in Beijing. Last April he stopped Chinese boxer Ma Yi Ming in one round to win his title.
Pan Jinxiang of China made the home fans rejoice when he beat James MacDonald of Australia by unanimous decision to win the WBO Youth junior lightweight title.
Pan, the reigning WBO China champion, outfought MacDonald in a bruising feisty contest. The scores ? Yuan Yunzi ? 98-92, Surat Soikrachang ? 96-94, Danrex Tapdasan ? 97-93.
The evening was capped by the successful pro debut of Bin Lu of China. He won a WBC ABCO light flyweight belt in his first professional outing against Wanchai Nianghansa of Thailand.
Lu battered Wanchai with head and body shots, decking him in the second. The Thai survived the round but in the third, hard shots to the midsection had the Thai sprawling, almost through the ropes. The fight was stopped at the 2:41 mark.
The WBO regional bouts were supervised by WBO VP for Asia-Pacific Leon Panoncillo. Supervising for the WBC was Thawuth Pluemsamran of Thailand.
For the non-title undercard matches, the Pinoys swept their Chinese counterparts:
Jay-ar Inson (Philippines) got a majority decision against Jin Yancheng of China, who is the reigning WBO China welterweight champion. Inson landed the harder punches against Jin, who visited the Philippines and fought a draw in Ilocos against Ryan Sermona last May. Inson is a former WBO interim lightweight titleholder.
Rene Mark Cuarto (Philippines) knocked out Li Guangxiong (China) with a shot to the solar plexus in the third round.
Vincent Astrolabio (Philippines) beat Ayati Sailike (China) by unanimous decision.
Genesis Libranza (Philippines) used an impressive variety of head and body combos to beat Zeng Yujie (China), also by unanimous verdict.
In the lone female fight between Chinese boxers - Yu Yahong beat Gao Liu by unanimous decision.
The fights were officiated by the Professional Boxing Commission (PBC) of China.
The dominant performance of the Filipino boxers was applauded by the appreciative crowd that included boxing icon Manny Pacquiao. This card is co-promoted by his company MP Promotions and Wen Xin Zhou of Ding Xin sports. This card is part of the Belt and Road World Boxing Champions Tour.
Top photo: Mark Anthony Barriga?s arm raised victorious by Referee Atty. Danrex Tapdasan.
Ronnie Baldonado?s arm raised victorious by Referee Surat Soikrachang and belted by WBO VP for Asia-Pacific Leon Panoncillo.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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