ABANIEL OFFERED TITLE SHOT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 16 Sep 2008
Outstandingly talented female boxer Gretchen ?Chen Chen? Abaniel has been offered a shot at the World Boxing Council and World International Boxing Association minimum weight title held by Carina ?La Reina? Moreno at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California, on October 23.
Abaniel?s manager, former Australian boxer Terry Mogg told www.insidesports.ph, Manila Standard and Viva Sports that Moreno ?is a classy fighter and she?s the best? but added that ?if she?s not at her best she?ll be in trouble and Gretchen will win the title from her.?
Abaniel has been featured on the top-rated weekly boxing show ?The Main Event? on many occasions and her most impressive showing was when she scored a ten rounds shut-out decision over Thailand ?s Lilly Rachaprachyagym in a WBC International female minimum weight title fight at the San Andres Gym in Manila on November 16, last year.
The fight coincided with the WBC Convention in Manila and was attended by several top officials of the organization as well as former world champion Oscar ?Chololo? Larios and Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez who both gave Abaniel a standing ovation after the fight. In fact Larios told us that ?if she (Abaniel) was a man she would have been an Olympic champion? indicating just how much he was impressed with her all-out aggression through ten rounds and her remarkable skill.
The 22 year old Abaniel has a record of 7-1 with 2 knockouts and is coming off another hugely impressive win over tough Thai girl Tukta Sor Ratana to win the Women?s International Boxing Association title in Puerto Princesa, Palawan last Saturday.
Abaniel?s only loss was a classic case of a hometown decision in Seoul, South Korea when she lost a fourth round technical decision to Cho Rong Son last March 16.
Reports on the fight said the ring doctor who was called to examine the almost completely shut left eye of the bloodied Korean appeared to have been coerced by the manager of Cho to stop the fight before the start of the fifth round.
The ring announcer failed to reveal the scorecards and merely declared the Korean the winner even as Korean television showed that Abaniel had battered the Korean champion in all four rounds.
Moreno, the 26 year old champion is from Watsonville, California and has an impressive record of 19-1 with 5 knockouts.
She won the WBC female minimum weight title with a ten round unanimous decision over Suzanne Warner last December 6 with two judges scoring a shutout. In her last fight Moreno won the WIBA title with another unanimous ten round decision over Yahira Martinez.
Moreno?s only loss was against Wendy Rodriguez when she fought for the IBA female flyweight title on January 21, 2006. Rodriguez was unable to continue because of a cut over her right eye caused by an accidental head-butt in the fourth round and she was awarded a technical decision in the sixth round.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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