Marcial, Casimiro KO Thai foes

CEBU – World title hopefuls Anthony “Rocky” Marcial and Jonreil Casimiro kept their unbeaten records intact with smashing knockout victories over separate Thai foes in the highly successful “Talisay Fight Night” double WBO regional championship on Friday at the full-house Talisay City Sports and Cultural Center.

The bigger, taller and stronger Marcial (10-0, 9KOs) knocked down Thongthai Rajanondh (17-4, 4KOs) in the first round and went on to finish off his hapless Thai opponent at 1:49 of the third round to snatch the interim WBO Oriental super featherweight title, while Casimiro (11-0, 6KOs) floored Liempetch Sor Veerapol (11-3, 7KOs) three times en route to a spectacular fifth round KO that earned him the WBO Youth light flyweight crown.

Marcial was obviously the dominant fighter, but his victory was tainted with controversy as most pundits deemed it was a premature stoppage made by referee Teddy Alivio.

Marcial pinned Rajanondh against the ropes with a flurry of punishing blows, but the Thai fell down the canvas in what appeared to be more of a slip than a solid punch.

“He was hit by a powerful punch and I’m afraid the next would be fatal that is why I decided to wave off the bout to prevent the Thai from imminent danger,” reasoned out Alivio, vice president of the Talisay City Amateur Boxing Association (TACABA) which is one of the primovers of the landmark event in Talisay sports.

Like the case of Rajanondh, Veerapol’s corner also protested in what they perceived an early stoppage in their ward’s fight against Casimiro.

But they drew catcalls and boos from the spectactors as it was clear that Casimiro has already done enough to force Veerapol to wave the white flag of surrender.

Casimiro scored late knockdowns in rounds two and four and then planted a bone-cracking right overhand to the chin that sent Veerapol flat on the mat at 1:05 of round five. Referee Tony Pesons wisely halted the bout to save the Thai visitor from further damage.

Thus, Casimiro became the first ever champion from the Omega Boxing Stable of International Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IPI). Omega is one of the backers of the show presented by international promoter Sammy G. Gello-ani of SGG Sports Promotions in association with TACABA under the flagship of Resty Seville, Tanduay, and Viva Sports.

In another controversial bout, Rey Labao was initially declared the winner after Daryl Pucdol failed to stand up after absorbing a low blow. After the night’s final bout, however, the GAB officials reversed the decision, awarding Pucdol of a victory by disqualification.

The rest of the card saw Jether Oliva extending his undefeated streak to nine with a fifth round TKO over Jerome Buntog, Korean Jhongwa Lee winning by unanimous decision over Erwin Pulvera, Elf Gitgano stopping Elmer Legaria in round three, and Richie Abapo by unanimous verdict over Brian Inihaw. – FREEMAN NEWS