TU?ACAO CAPTURES PHILIPPINE BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 21 Sep 2008
Mandaue City -- Comebacking former world champion Malcolm 'Eagle Eye' Tu?acao won via split-decision over up-and-coming Monico Laurente to capture the vacant Philippine Bantamweight Title during last night's first installment of the Summit Boxing Tour at the open air Mandaue Public Plaza here.
Tu?acao, fighting in his own backyard and cheered by friends and neighbors, showed his slick-punching ability by out-pointing Laurente most of the night. Tu?acao's left, which was reportedly previously injured, was evidently absent last night as he was seen relying mostly on his right.
Tu?acao's inability to press the action when Laurente appeared to be hurt had dragged the fight that was interrupted by slight rainshowers that made the canvas slippery which caused both fighters to lose their balance several times.
The judges' scores of 115-112, 115-113, 113-114 for a Tu?acao split-decision victory came as a surprise to many. PhilBoxing had it 118-109 for Tu?acao. There were no knockdowns during the fight but Laurente was deducted a point in the 10th round for accidental headbutt.
Tu?acao, who captured a world crown in his 11th professional bout but struggled to get another shot after losing his title to Thailand's Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in 2001, has now upped his win-loss-draw record to 22-2-3 with 15 knockouts. Laurente, fighting out of the Johnny Elorde stable of Para?aque City, has dropped to 7-3-0 1KO.
The Summit Boxing Tour is presented by ALA Promotions in partnership with Summit Natural Drinking Water with next stops scheduled in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Tagbilaran, Bacolod and other cities in Cebu.
Top photo: Malcolm 'Eagle Eye' Tu?acao (R) and Monico Laurente in this bit of action during last night's Philippine Bantamweight Championship fight at the Mandaue Public Plaza in Mandaue City, Cebu. Photo by King Catriz.
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