Fajardo annihilates Gabunilas in one round, grabs OPBF belt

CEBU, Philippines —  The power-hitting Miel “Silent Assassin” Fajardo continued his knockout rampage, scoring three knockdowns en route to a shocking first round stoppage of Johnpaul “Angas ng Cebu” Gabunilas in the main event of “Engkwentro 11” presented by ARQ Sports Promotions on Tuesday night, August 15, at the Hoops Dome in Barangay Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City.

Living up to his lofty billing as world record-holder for the fastest KO in pro boxing history, Fajardo consumed just 60 seconds to destroy the unsuspecting Gabunilas and snatch the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) light flyweight crown.

Fajardo was all business right from the opening bell, landing a powerful right to the face that sent Gabunilas at the seat of his pants with just seven seconds gone by in the match.

Gabunilas beat the count of referee Tony Pesons buy was obviously dazed and groggy with unsteady legs.

Smelling blood, Fajardo did not waste time in unleashing a barrage of solid blows that downed Gabunilas for the second time. Gabunilas managed to get up only to floored for the third time, prompting Pesons to wisely wave off the bout.

The punching dynamo from San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, who is world rated in all four major boxing organizations, now has three straight victories under the one-minute mark spotlighted by his spectacular 10-second demolition of Thai Sarawut Thiamthong that earned him the Asian Boxing Federation (ABF) 112-pound title on December 28, 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Fajardo, ranked No.11 by the World Boxing Council (WBC)where Gabunilas is a distant No.32, improved his record to 11-1-2 now packed with 10KOs.

Gabunilas fell to 10-2 with 7KOs. He is expected to ponder on his defeat, then take a much needed breather before going back to the drawing board and plot his next career move.

In the co-main event, ARQ’s April Jay “Astroboy” Abne retained his OPBF Silver flyweight belt with a hard-earned split decision over former world title challenger Robert “Inggo” Paradero from Bukidnon.

After 10 rounds of action, judge William Manus penned the bout 95-93 for Paradero but judges Edwin Barrientos and Rolando Mendoza saw it otherwise, both scoring 95-93 for Abne, hence, the split verdict.

The Manticao, Misamis Oriental-native Abne now holds a 13-1 win-loss record spiked with 6KOs. Paradero dropped to 18-8-1 with 12KOs.

The close victory was very timely and a morale booster for Abne as he dropped out of the Top 40 in most latest WBC ratings.