JACA SHINES IN VEGAS, GETS STAR TREATMENT TOO
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 23 Jan 2006
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA--Sibulan, Negros-raised Jimrex Jaca has just found out that when you outshine the klieg lights in Vegas, you're treated as if you were royalty.
Yesterday, Jaca found his own measure of fame when he knocked out Mexican Geronimo Hernandez with just 2:43 gone in the first round, virtually opening a floodgate of opportunities for the 22-year-old southpaw in the United States.
"Grabeha, sikat kaayo Jimrex. Daghan na ga-offer," announced Jaca's manager Rex "Wakee" Salud, who was at ringside to watch his ward perform.
A big left downed Hernandez midway through the opening round, and after referee Joe Cortez tolled the count, Jaca went in for the kill, using another big left to down Hernandez for good.
After the fight, Filipino and Mexican fans immediately mobbed Jaca for photo ops at the Thomas and Mack Center, and upon arriving at the Wynn Hotel, was again seen being mobbed by the hotel's rmoneyed clientele.
"This was a far cry from the kid who used to fight for a living inside a military camp in Negros," said a boxing observer, citing Jaca's humble beginnings before he was discovered by Cebuano Anol Jaca, from whom he gets his ring name.
His real name is Jimuel Divino, so "Jimrex" means Jimwell and Rex Salud combined.
The win improved Jaca's record to 25-1-1, 12 KO's.
"Boss Wakee has told me that I will be staying longer here to train. But I already miss my family," Jaca told this writer in Cebuano moments after the fight.
Jaca, however, said he is determined to do whatever it takes to become a world champion someday.
END
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