Jaca loses to Honmo for OPBF title
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 21 May 2006
TOKYO--Jimrex Jaca started strong and put up a competitive stand, but was bothered by cuts caused by headbutts most of the second part of the 12-round bout here to lose via a close unanimous decision to Japanese Nobuhito Honmo in their showdown for the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation super-featherweight title at the Korakuen Hall.
The three judges saw the bout 117-114, 116-112, and 116-113 all in favor of the fast-moving and defense specialist Honmo, who is currently ranked WBC no. 6 and WBA no. 9.
The title was recently vacated by Filipino Randy Suico, who decided to move up to the lightweight division.
Jaca, who was backed by Darlington and Cafe Puro in his quest for the regional title, immediately gained the upperhand at the get-go, peppering Honmo with body shots in the first round that had the Japanese backpedalling for safety. Jaca won the round on all three judges` scorecards as he followed the instructions of trainers Buboy Fernandez and Robert Bubuli.
Honmo slightly recovered in the second and third round, winning on the judges` cards, before Jaca took the fourth witha big left that had Honmo bleeding profusely following the legal punch.
The Japanese, however, regained his composure in the fifth and sixth, although an accidental clash of heads had the Filipino bleeding from the left eyelid. Jaca retaliated by winning the seventh frame, but was visibly affected by the cut.
`In fact, Jaca had two cuts due to headbutts, there was also one on the right eye,` said boxing division chief Emmanuel Flores, who was at ringside.
Honmo took the eighth and ninth rounds, before they battled to a close tenth. Honmo won the eleventh before the two fighters closed out a very close final round.
`Jaca is still young and will bounce back`
Jaca`s manager Rex `Wakee` Salud, however, did not lose hope, and indicated that his young ward will bounce back from the defeat and learn his lessons well.
`I`m sure he`ll return with a bang. He`s still a work in progress, and he`ll bounce back,` said Salud after the fight.
Salud is putting Jaca next against Mexican Adrian Valdez as an undercard to the July 2 Manny Pacquiao-Oscar Larios showdown at the Araneta Coliseum.
If successful, Jaca is expected to campaign in the United States, where he will train at the Wild Card Gym of trainers Freddie Roach and Eric Brown.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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