Night of knockouts Ocampo grabs WBO AsPac belt; Labao wins Phl lightweight title

CEBU, Philippines - Jose "The Bomber" Ocampo of Saranggani Province seized the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific super featherweight title with a resounding fourth round TKO victory over Weng "Captain Barbel" Haya of Mandaue City in the main event of “SGG Next Prospects XIII” last Sunday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Haya was in full control of the match in the first two rounds, landing effective head and body shots to Ocampo, but the Phl ranked No. 9 130-pounder suddenly lost steam and wilted under a furious counter-attack by the Mindanao brawler.

After a heated exchange of blows, Ocampo sneaked in a solid uppercut that sent Haya reeling before eventually crashing into the mat midway in the third round.

Haya got up quickly, but another heavy bombardment by Ocampo floored him for the second time. A visibly groggy Haya survived the stormy round by holding on and hugging his opponent too long.

Smelling blood, Ocampo carried on his relentless offensive in the fourth round where he delivered another set of solid hits that sent Haya down on both knees, gasping for air. This time, referee Danrex Tapdasan stepped in to halt the carnage at the 2:26 mark of round four.

"I gave my all because I was thinking of retirement if ever I will lose in this bout. Luckily, I won and it inspires me to pursue my dream of becoming a world champion someday," said the 22-year-old Ocampo, who improved his record to 15-5-1 packed with 10KOs. Haya fell to 15-5 (8KOs).

On the other hand, former WBO AsPac super featherweight titlist Rey 'Malone' Labao (23-3, 14KOs) of Liloan, southern Leyte pulled off the most spectacular win of the night when he dethroned Jay "Rapido" Solmiano (11-2, 7KOs) of San Andres, Catanduanes via first round knockout to emerge as the new Philippine lightweight champion.

The two protagonists traded power shots right after the opening bell until Labao let loose a sledge-hammer punch to the chin that snuffed the air out of Solmiano's nose. The fallen champ tried to stand up but with rubbery legs, prompting refere Tony Pesons to wave off the bout at 2:37 of the opening session.

"I did not expect the fight to end that early because he's (Solmiano) a champion," said Labao, who is now under the wings of the indefatigable Cebuano promoter Sammy 'Don King' Gello-ani. "But I was really motivated to win because Sir Sammy promised to let me fight abroad if ever I would get past Solmiano."

In the other featured bout, former WBO Oriental super bantamweight title-holder Ciso "Kid Terible" Morales (16-2-1, 9KOs) defeated a very game Joash Aparicio (8-7, 6KOs) of Malaybalay, Bukidnon by TKO at 1:48 of the fourth round.

Aparicio wallowed on the canvas in pain after being hit by an accidental borderline shot by Morales. However, he refused to continue after the mandatory five-minute rest period had lapsed, thus, the TKO verdict in favor of Morales.

Light flyweight prospect Virgilio Silvano of General Santos City and 'Buhay Boksingero' champion Jessie Cris Rosales also came up with impressive triumphs.

Silvano threw a series of head blows to stop Roque Lauro of Manila at 1:53 of round three, while Rosales, currently the WBO AsPac No. 8 featherweight contender, unleashed a crushing left cross to the head that flattened Elmer Pulbe of Pagadian City within just 39 seconds.

Jack "The Golden Boy" Tepora of Cebu City also showed a lot of promise in his baptism of fire as a pro, forcing Danilo Torbiso to quit on his stool before the start of the fourth round.

The other results of the slambang show put up by Gello-ani's SGG Sports Promotions in partnership with GMA-7 Kapuso network and Sampson Boxing LLC saw Rennel Flechero of Manila and Jasper Buhat of General Santos City winning both by majority decision over Jovan Muñoz of Mandaue City and Marlo Pasigna of Pagadian City, respectively. (FREEMAN)