Bad news struck Manny Pacquiao on the eve of his highly-anticipated rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez as his younger brother Bobby was knocked out in the first round of a scheduled tenner by the undefeated WBC No.2 super featherweight contender Urbano Antillon at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In a report by fightnews.com, Antillon pumelled BobPac with a double left hook to the body that sent the General Santos City fighter down on both knees. BobPac, obviously gasping for air, failed to beat the count, thus, referee Joe Cortez waved off the bout at the 2:49 mark.
It was Antillon’s second straight victory via first round stoppage. That followed up his back-to-back wins by second round demolition against Thai Thongchai Por Pratompong and Colombian Wilson Alcorro.
Antillon remained unscathed in 22 bouts garnished with 15KOs, while BobPac fell to 28-14 (13KOs) with his fourth straight loss.
Some boxing pundits though are confident that BobPac’s crushing defeat will not bring any negative effects on Manny’s psyche when he challenges Marquez, WBC super featherweight champion, in the main event of tomorrow’s “Unfinished Business” card at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Juan Manuel’s brother too, Rafael Marquez, lost by split decision to fellow Mexican Israel Vasquez in their rubbermatch for the WBC super bantamweight crown two weeks ago at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.