Draw Saves Pinoy Initial Ring Campaign Abroad
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 19 Jan 2025
Encinares and Konuma fight ends in draw.
A draw by Jed Encinares in his second fight in Japan saved the Pinoy boxers' opening ring campaign abroad from total shut-out following losses to five other Filipino fighters in the recent weeks.
The 17 year old Japan-based Encinares held to majority draw a debuting Muto Konuma in their six round bantamweight undercard bout held at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo last January 14, 2025. He lost his own debut August last year to Daisuke Igarashi by knockout.
But earlier, veteran South Korea-based Filipino journeyman Mark Sales became the first Pinoy casualty abroad when he lost by unanimous decision to South Korean Min Ho Jung in their 8 round main event bout in Incheon. The 43-year-old Sales managed to deck Min in the second round but was thoroughly outboxed the rest of the way in dropping to his 50th loss against 25 wins.
Last Saturday (Friday in the US), Mike Plania (now 31-5, 18 KOs) and Lito Dante (now 21-14-4, 12KOs) were outclassed by their taller and more skilled American opponents in their scheduled bouts in Commerce, California.
Plania challenged the tall and undefeated Omar Cande Trinidad (now 18-0-1, 13 KOs) for his Continental Americas featherweight title in the 12 round main event and virtually lost every round in dropping a unanimous decision. The bout was watched on the ringside by reigning WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinosa who reportedly eyeing the winner as a future foe.
It was practically the same fate that befell Dante in his undercard bout against the younger and taller undefeated super flyweight prospect Alexander Gauche (now 7-0, 6 KOs) who used his size and speed as well as rapid punching to frustrate the Pinoy veteran who last fought as a light flyweight.
Yesterday in Tokyo, three other Pinoys were defeated including the once promising Lorenz Dumam-ag who failed in his bid for the vacant OPBF flyweight title.
Dumam-ag dropped a close unanimous decision to Jukiya Iimura in their 12 round main event title bout at the Korakuen Hall.
Michael Casama lost every round in bowing by unanimous decision to the higher rated undefeated Kenji Fujita for the WBO Asia Pacific featherweight championship. Casama won his last fight in Japan by knockout, among the few Pinoy to do so last year but Fujita has beaten six Pinoys previously and proceeded to make Casama his seventh victim.
In the undercard, Alvin Camigue (now 9-4-0, 4KOs) was also soundly outpointed by the young Sento Ito whose 2-0 pro record belie his top 15 boxrec ranking in the bantamweight.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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