FERNANDEZ HAMMERS RAI TO ENTER ASIAN GAMES BANTAMWEIGHT QUARTER FINALS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 26 Sep 2014
Filipino bantamweight Mario Fernandez hammered Nepal's tough Puran Rai to score a unanimous, three round shutout decision to enter the quarter finals of the Incheon Asian Games boxing competition yesterday.
The 21 year old, a rising star of the Amateur Boxing Alliance of the Philippines under its president Ricky Vargas, is a product of a nationwide grassroots development program and had showed his undoubted skill in the round of 16 when he reasserted his superiority over Thailand?s Doncha Thathai whom he beat in the last South East Asian Games with a fine all-round performance and as expected triumphed over his Nepalese challenger who had some power but didn't have the overall skill of Fernandez.
Winner of the gold medal in the Lion's Cup International Boxing Championships in Sri Lanka earlier this year, Fernandez out-boxed Rai, using his hand-speed to connect with one-two combinations and with excellent lateral movements frustrated the Nepalese fighter winning all three rounds on the scorecards of the three judges for a 30-27 shutout.
Fernandez didn't give Rai a chance to get into a rhythm unlike his previous fight when he won comfortably over Saudi A rabia's Yahya Hassan Sharhili, connecting with some solid blows to score a unanimous three round decision.
Multi-tiled, 26 year old veteran Charly Suarez who was to see action in the evening session yesterday is bound to be tested by the heavy-handed Akhil Kumar of India who hammered Nepal?s Purna Bahadur to win by a TKO midway in the 3rd round after the referee gave the Nepalese two standing eight-counts in round one and another eight-count in round two before Kumar blasted Bahadur in the third round forcing the referee to call a halt to the one-sided contest.
Kumar?s coach GS Sandhu said ?Suarez is a good boxer and defeated a very good boxer in (Elnur Abdurimov, the Uzbekistan national champion)? and added, ?let?s see how it goes.?
The International Amateur Boxing Association said Suarez, the Asian Olympic Qualifiers silver medalist who also competed in two seasons of the World Series of Boxing ?attacked more in the first part of the contest? and noted that Abduraimov ?had not got enough experience among the elite athletes yet.?
ABAP executive director Ed Picson said the scores in Suarez? fight showed two judges had him winning 29-28 while a third judge gave it to the Uzbek fighter by the same 29-28 margin.
Kumar who is returning to international competition after a lay off of three years due to various injuries was dominant from the opening bell against Bahadur. With his hands down, the power punching Kumar went after his hapless rival who appeared awed by the bull-strong Indian.
After making the Indian team in an amazing comeback, Kumar known for his daredevil style of fighting said ?I am back and I promise temperature inside the ring will go up when I step in."
Suarez has also been sidelined by injuries and had a one year layoff which didn?t seem to bother him in his opening bout.
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