BATAWANG LOSES BY 5TH ROUND TKO IN IBF TITLE ELIMINATOR
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 28 Mar 2010
Age clearly has begun to tell on 38 year old former title challenger Bert ?Ninja? Batawang who lost by a 5th round TKO to former champion Ulises ?Archie? Solis in an IBF title eliminator at the Plaza Pueblo Antiguo in Mexico, Sunday morning Manila Time.
The first three rounds were fairly even with both fighters ready to slug it out but Solis? power and Batawang?s age began to tell when the Mexican dropped Batawang in round four and hammered him in round five forcing the Filipino to remain on his stool and not come out for the sixth round.
With the win the 28 year old Solis improved to 30-2-2 with 21 knockouts while Batawang who is ten years older, dropped to 45-15-3 with 17 knockouts.
Solis who lost the title in a stunning 11th round knockout to Filipino Brian Viloria on April 19, 2009 at the famed Araneta Coliseum in Metro Manila won an eight round unanimous decision over Dirceu Cabarca in a tune-up fight on September 15, 2009 and with the win over Batawang earned a crack at Colombia?s Carlos Tamara.
Tamara won the title with an unexpected 12th round TKO over Viloria who was leading on the scorecards of all three judges before he suddenly faded and referee Bruce McTavish had no choice but to stop the fight. Viloria appeared helpless on the ropes absorbing punches and not fighting back in Solar Sports promotion ?Collision Course? at the Cuneta Astrodome..
The Batawang-Solis eliminator was a rematch as Solis scored a 9th round TKO over the Filipino veteran in a December 15, 2007 title fight after Solis earlier scored an 8th round TKO win over Rodel Mayol who is the reigning WBC world champion having won the title with a 2nd round TKO over Edgar Sosa in Mexico.
Since his loss to Solis which he blamed on a rib injury early in the fight, Batawang has won four of his last five fights. The only loss being a 7th round TKO at the hands of promising Edren Dapudong for the WBO Oriental light flyweight title on April 25, 2009 after being dropped in rounds 5 and 7.
Rather strangely, Batawang was then given a shot at the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title which he won by a 5th round TKO over Indonesia?s Jack Amisa in a fight card in China on November 28, 2009.
Top photo: Ulises Solis (L) hits Bert Batawang in the body during their first encounter last year.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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