FORMER PACQUIAO SPARRING PARTNER TAPIA WINS NABO JR. MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 13 Jul 2013
Former Manny Pacquiao sparring partner, Glenn Tapia, maintained his unbeaten record with a bloody 8th round TKO in a war against previously undefeated Abie Han to win the North American Boxing Organization junior middleweight title at the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas.
The battle of undefeated young prospects on ESPN?s Friday Night Fights promoted by Top Rank was an action-packed affair.
The Jersey City boy Tapia who was very popular with Filipino fans when he served as a sparring partner of Pacquiao in Baguio City improved his record to 19-0 with 12 knockouts while the game Han of El Paso, Texas suffered his first loss to drop to 19-1 with 12 knockouts.
Boxing Scene reported that Tapia had Han in trouble in the opening round and was ?drilling Han with both hands, as he pressed him against the ropes. Han came out in the second, with his face already showing damage, trying to change the tide. Han was doing well in the third, with Tapia staging a strong rally in the final 20 seconds.?
A bad clash of heads in the fourth round opened up a cut on the left side of Han?s head even as the two fighters traded big shots wining down the round.
Han went after Tapia in the fifth round and the ?Jersey Boy? appeared to be in trouble but boxingscene.com reported that after a tough sixth round Tapia came back strong in the seventh and had Han in deep trouble. Tapia opened up a cut above the left eye of Han and dropped the Texan with a shot that nearly sent him through the ropes.
In the eighth Tapia went to the body and although Han?s cuts were bleeding badly he gamely tried to battle back but the ringside doctor had seen enough decided to stopped the fight before the start of the ninth round, giving Tapia a big win and a huge boost to his career.
Photo: Glenn Tapia poses with a fan in Baguio city.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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