SPORTS SHORTS 132: MICHAEL DASMARIÑAS VOWS HE WILL GIVE NAOYA INOUE A GOOD FIGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 16 May 2021
Michael Dasmariñas will challenge Naoya Inoue for the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation bantamweight titles in Las Vegas on June 19. His encounter with Inoue will be Dasmariñas' biggest match, as he has not challenged yet for a world title in the four major boxing bodies.
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Defeating Inoue is an exacting challenge due to his unblemished record of 20 wins with 17 knockout victories, including wins against 4 Filipinos: Nonito Donaire by unanimous decision in 2019, Warlito Parrenas by 2nd round T in 2015, Jerson Mancio by 5th round TKO in 2013, and Crison Omayao by 4th round KO in 2012.
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Inoue's latest victory was an impressive seventh-round knockout over Australian Jason Moloney in October last year after his unanimous decision win over former four-division world champion Nonito Donaire in October 31, 2019.
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While Inoue is active, Dasmariñas has not fought since his match with Artid Bamrungauea of Thailand in October 26, 2019, winning by a technical knockout in the fifth round improving his record to 30-2-1 (20 KOs).
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Marbon Bodiongan of Davao City, who stopped him in the 2nd round, handed Dasmarinas his first professional loss. In his second bout outside of the country, in South Africa he battled local favorite Lwandile Sityatha for the IBO super flyweight title.
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But Dasmarinas would be included in the list of several Filipino fighters who lost due to hometown decision. Sityatha won a very controversial split decision. The loss was Dasmarinas's second defeat in his career but that fight could be his if fought on a neutral venue.
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Michael was born in Pili, Camarines Sur, Philippines, on August 20, 1992, aged 28 years. He currently resides in Valenzuela City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Nicknamed "Hot and Spicy". He stands at 5′ 7″ (170 cm) and is a southpaw with 66% KO rate.
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Dasmariñas belong to a family of 11 brothers and sisters. His father is a farmer and his mother is a housewife. He said he started boxing when he was nine years old, his interest was aroused by watching the sport on TV. His older brother was an amateur fighter and his father was also a boxer and that influenced his love for the sport.
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Michael said he was very excited to see all the equipment in the gym, like the punching bag, speed ball, and other equipment that he has not seen since he was an amateur. All he knew and tried before were the mitts, a punching bag made of a sand bag and a speed rope.
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"To beat Inoue, I have to make sure I am at least a level above him and fight with speed, power and precision. I am going out there to give him a good fight and win and I am putting in the necessary work to get that result," Dasmariñas was quoted by Bad Left Hook.
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Dasmariñas improved his preparations for his world title fight against Inoue in June by hiring unbeaten KJ Cataraja as his sparring partner as reported by Rappler. He needs to practice with a partner who was used to the Japanese's fighting style and techniques.
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A former ALA Boxing standout, Cataraja has a record of 12-0, 10 KOs and has worked as one of Inoue's sparring partners three times since 2018.
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According to Art Monis, Dasmariñas' manager, Cataraja will spar with his boxer until the he leaves for the title fight with Inoue on Saturday, June 19 (Sunday, June 20, Manila time) at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
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Before Cataraja, Dasmariñas also sparred with Juanito Paredes, Carl Jammes Martin and the hard-hitting super flyweight Ken Jordan (9-1-2, 8 KOs). He is training under former world champion Tacy Macalos. They have been studying Inoue's previous fights, hoping to find some loop holes in the champion's style.
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In a YouTube post by Martin, Dasmariñas said his chance of winning against Inoue depends on his ability to land the solid punch first. "Whoever hurts the other first is likely to win," said Dasmariñas.
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Canelo Alvarez ranked the top pound-for-pound fighters without including himself. "Terence Crawford, Teofimo Lopez, Naoya Inoue. It’s hard to pick one,” Alvarez told BoxingScene.com. “I enjoy watching Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Lopez.”
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Nicola Adams of United Kingdom became the first female boxer to become an Olympic gold medalist, winning at London in 2012, and the first double Olympic gold medalist at Rio in 2016, both in the flyweight division. She retired with an undefeated record and held the WBO female flyweight title in 2019.
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Last Ten Shooting Guards who became NBA MVP
Michael Jordan: 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998
Allen Iverson: 2001
Kobe Bryant: 2008
James Harden: 2018
Source: fadeawayworld.net
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Michael Jordan won 5 MVP Awards in the Chicago Bulls, also has 6 Finals MVPs. Allen Iverson did it by averaging 31.1 points and led the Sixers to the Finals.
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Kobe Bryant won MVP Award in 2008 by averaging 28.3 points and leading the Lakers to the NBA Finals. James Harden averaged 30.4 points and 8.8 assists and became league MVP for the Rockets.
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Vanessa Bryant, the wife of the late superstar Kobe Bryant, accepted her husband's induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday night on his behalf at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, saying that he's still winning even after his demise.
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"I used to always avoid praising my husband in public because I felt like he got enough praise from his fans around the world and someone had to bring him back to reality," Vanessa Bryant said as quoted by ESPN.
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"Right now, I'm sure he's laughing in heaven because I'm about to praise him in public for his accomplishments on one of the most public stages. I can see him now, arms folded, with a huge grin saying, 'Isn't this some s---?'. He's still winning."
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The 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class is one of the most star-studded of all time, led by Bryant and fellow NBA legends Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan -- a trio which Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said earlier that is better than any class in the history of the Hall of Fame.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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