A NIGHT OF CONTROVERSY IN TALISAY, CEBU
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 05 Oct 2008
Anthony ?Rocky? Marcial won the WBO super featherweight interim title with a 3rd round TKO over a much shorter but game thai fighter Thong Thai Rajanondh while Jhonreil Casimiro scored a 5th round TKO over another battling Thai Liempetch Sor Veerapol to win the vacant WBO Asia Pacific junior flyweight crown before a huge crowd at the Talisay Sports Complex in Cebu.
While the two Filipinos were clearly the superior fighters and kept their unbeaten records in tact, the undue hastiness in which referees Teddy Alivio and Tony Pesons halted the bouts was questionable and disappointing to the fight fans who were enjoying the action.
Marcial who improved to 10-0 with 9 knockouts was nowhere near the star that even WBO Asia-Pacific top man Leon Panoncillo made him out to be as he was tense and tight looking to score an early knockout against Rajanondh who had a record of 17-8- with 4 knockouts.
The Thai fighter moved up from super bantamweight to super featherweight to face Marcial after his original opponent, super bantamweight champion Ciso ?Kid Terrible? Morales pulled out following an injury to his right hand suffered in training.
Marcial who threw punches from all angles, often missing the target, caught Rajanondh with a hard right to the side of the jaw to score a knockdown in round one but the Thai got up immediately and tried desperately to rush Marcial in an effort to overcome the height advantage of the 5?9? Filipino but was successful only occasionally.
In the third round Marcial threw a flurry of punches in the neutral corner when Rajanondh clearly slipped but referee Alivio called a halt without even checking on the Thai who jumped to his feet and protested the decision and never looked hurt at all.
It was more of the same in the Casimiro fight as the promising young prospect rose to 11-0 with 6 knockouts.
Casimiro dropped Liempetch with a right to the head in round two before the Filipino suffered a slight cut as a result of an accidental head-butt in round three. Casimiro drilled Liempetch with a nifty combination and sent him to the canvas in the dying seconds of round four and even hit him while he was down.
In the very next round Casimiro nailed Liempetch with a perfect uppercut sending the Thai flat on his back but he didn?t look in any real trouble and was clearly ready and willing to get up and continue but referee Tony Pesons put one hand on the Thai?s chest and called it off much to the consternation of the Thai corner where American Dante Ortiz was also helping out after his fighter Rey Labao was involved in the biggest controversy of the fight night.
In a confusion-marred fight Labao was initially declared the winner after he dropped late replacement Darryl Pucdol with a vicious low blow in the fifth round and Pucdol, a fighter from the stable of Rex ?Wakee? Salud lay on the canvas grimacing in pain and failing to resume even after a five-minute recovery period as provided by the rules.
Referee Ben Necessario was inclined to disqualify Labao since the fancied southpaw had hurt Pucdol with several low blows beginning with what appeared to be a borderline case in the first round which Necessario called a knockdown.
Labao decked Pucdol again in round three with another low blow which was clearly seen on the slo-motion TV replays by Viva Sports which covered the fights for telecast on the top-rated weekly boxing show ?The Main? event on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. over IBC 13, presented by Tanduay, the No. 1 Rhum and supported by Pagcor and PCSO.
When Labao dropped Pucdol with another low blow in round 4, an increasingly impatient Necessario correctly slapped him with a one point deduction.
In the eventful fifth round Labao caught Pucdol with another truly vicious low blow that sent Pucdol flat on his back in obvious pain.
After the five minute rest period Games and Amusements Board official Celso Miranda instructed referee Necessario who was looking for guidance to declare Labao the winner since Pucdol refused to continue and had to be even helped to his corner.
It was then that Salud?s chief trainer Juanito Ablaca stepped into the ring and vehemently argued with Miranda and the GAB officials, protesting the decision. While we escorted Ablaca away from a heated confrontation with the ifficials, we also invited Miranda to watch the slo-mo replays.
The Miranda decided he had erred and that Necessario who said that in his judgment the low blow was deliberate was upheld and the decision reversed.
This raised a counter protest from Ortiz and even promoter Sammy Gell-ani who claimed the GAB should have first received an official protest, studied the tape of the fight and then make a final decision. But Miranda stood by the decision and Labao who was 3 ? pounds overweight and had to wear 10 ounce gloves as against the 8 ounce gloves of Pucdol, suffered his second loss. His record now stands at 16-2 with 11 knockouts while Pucdol who was a last minute substitute for Amor Tino improved to 9-2 with 4 knockouts.
Top photo: Darryl Pucdol lies flat on the canvas after being hit with a low blow by Rey Labao (C) during Friday night's boxing event in Talisay, Cebu.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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