DE LA CRUZ SERVES AS TARGET PRACTICE FOR KLASSEN
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 14 Apr 2008
Former IBF super featherweight champion Michael Klassen, who was once considered as a possible opponent for Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, has scored a seventh round knockout over unknown Filipino boxer Joel de la Cruz.
Super Sport reported that de la Cruz ?had nothing to offer. He served as target practice and did not even take a telling blow when he stumbled back, landed on his behind and stayed down to be counted out at 2 minutes 9 seconds of the seventh round.?
The fight was on the undercard of the IBF junior lightweight title fight in which Cassius Baloyi regained the title in what was described as a ?classic scrap? at the North-West University Sports Complex in Mafikeng, South Africa.
Two of the judges had Baloyi, who won his sixth world championship, ahead on their scorecards while the third judge scored it a draw. Alex Levin of the US had Baloyi the winner 117-111, Mickey Vann of Britain also had it for Baloyi 116-112 but Germany?s Ingo Barrabas scored it a 114-114 draw.
The report on the de la Cruz fight said Klassen seemed to be intent on getting a few rounds under his belt.? It said the former world champion never put his weight behind his punches and merely stuck to a jab-jab-hook pattern against his Filipino opponent who had no right to be in the ring with Klassen.
Boxrec.com listed de la Cruz as a super bantamweight with a 1-3 record going into the fight in South Africa with two of his three defeats coming by way of stoppages. He lost by a fourth round TKO to Jake Verano and before that by a second round KO to Danny Boy Bantilao.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh To headline historic “Legacy Nights” Inaugural Pro Boxing event in El Salvador
Tue, 16 Sep 2025Smarts over power
By Joaquin Henson, Tue, 16 Sep 2025HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
Tue, 16 Sep 2025Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
Tue, 16 Sep 2025THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
By Maloney L. Samaco, Mon, 15 Sep 2025A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
By Dong Secuya, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025