ABANIEL'S LOSS CAPS PHILIPPINE WORLD TITLE CAMPAIGN IN JULY
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 30 Jul 2018
Filipino boxers scored three out of six in world title fights held in the month of July. Gretchen Abaniel lost to defending champion Tenkai Tsunami of Japan Sunday July 29 by fourth round TKO in a WBO female world light flyweight title fight held in Okinawa.
The 32 year old Abaniel, from Puerto Princesa, Palawan, previously held a world title at minimumweight with the IBA. Last October 2017, she also had a world title shot against then reigning IBF female minimumweight champion Zongju Cai of China and lost by unanimous decision in Macao.
Abaniel is now 18-10,6KO?s while Tenkai, who was making her first defense, goes up to 25-12,13KO?s.
It was Vic Saludar who came up with the first Philippine victory this month when he dethroned Ryuya Yamanaka of Japan at Kobe's Central Gym for the WBO world minimumweight title last July 13.
It was a very close contest in the first six rounds but Vic pulled away after his hard right dropped Yamanaka in the seventh round. The three judges had it 116-111, 117-110 and 115-112,
The most celebrated win of course was Manny Pacquiao?s 7th round TKO win over Argentina?s Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia for the WBA welterweight title on July 15. It was Pacquiao?s first return to action since he lost his WBO belt to Australian Jeff Horn last year.
Jhack Tepora of the Omega Gym of Cebu shone brightly on the undercard of Pacquiao-Matthysse when he stopped Mexican Edivaldo Ortega in nine rounds for the WBA interim world featherweight title.
Toto Landero lost to South African Simphiwe Khonco for the IBO world minimumweight title last July 22 by unanimous decision in Umtata,Eastern Cape,South Africa. This was the second world title shot in a row for Landero, who lost to WBA minimumweight champ Thammanoon Niyomtrong of Thailand last March also by unanimous verdict in Chonburi.
Last Friday, July 27, Froilan Saludar failed to duplicate his brother?s feat when he succumbed to the brutal body punching of Japanese Sho Kimura in six rounds at the Guosen Gymnasium in Qingdao, China.
So it was only Vic Saludar who came up victorious in three head to head matches against Japanese champions this month. The three world belts captured by the Philippines this July is good enough considering that all of the six fights were held overseas and that local boxing has been in a stupor even in the traditional boxing hotbed of Cebu. Maybe Pacquiao?s win can help in reviving the number of boxing promotions and local fights shown on Philippine television.
Photo - Tenkai Tsunami of Japan and Gretchen Abaniel (extreme right) pose during the weigh-in in Okinawa.
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