ROCKY FUENTES TKO WIN OVER IKEHARA CONSIDERED 'FIGHT OF THE MONTH' IN JAPAN
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 06 Jun 2010
Rocky Fuentes.
Hard-hitting Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation flyweight champion Rocky Fuentes from the famed ALA Gym retained his title in his first defense against fancied Japanese mandatory challenger, world-rated Shigetaka Ikehara at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo late Saturday.
Fuentes who is ranked No. 9 by the WBC engaged Ikehara who is rated No. 15 by both the WBC and the WB in an action-packed encounter which well-known ?Hall of Fame? journalist, broadcaster, manager and matchmaker Joe Koizumi said was ?really the ?Fight of the Month? which had the crowd in a frenzy? as both fighters stood toe-to-toe and exchanged solid punches.
In the end Fuentes battered Ikehara with a series of combinations that had the challenger too groggy and almost completely exhausted to continue forcing his corner to surrender by throwing in the towel at 2:09 of the 11th round giving Fuentes a TKO victory.
It was by no means an easy fight for the Filipino champion who was staggered by Ikehara who connected with a flurry of punches that had Fuentes in dire straits in the middle of the third round. Ikehara kept the pressure on over the next two rounds but Fuentes, showing the heart of a champion caught the Japanese challenger with stinging left jabs and ripping body shots that took the sting out of Ikehara in round six .
Fuentes maintained his aggressive stance over the next two rounds but Ikehara came back in the 9th round and fighting desperately according to Koizumi, shook Fuentes with vicious combinations but that Fuentes rallied towards the latter half of the round to keep it even.
In the fateful eleventh round Fuentes whose versatility and willingness to trade punches with Ikehara who crashed into the top ten ratings in the world when he scored a 3rd round TKO over former world title challenger Shingo Yamaguchi last November 30, 2009, eventually took its toll on the game challenger.
The excellent physical conditioning of Fuentes and his courage helped him win and improve his record to 26-6-2 with 16 knockouts. Fuentes and trainer Edito Villamor are scheduled to arrive in Cebu from Tokyo at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. With the loss Ikehara drops to 20-2-2 with 16 knockouts but his world rankings are sure to drop even as Fuentes is certain to move up in the WBC top ten.
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