Francisco stops foe in fifth round

MANILA, Philippines - Drian Francisco of the Philippines last night demolished a Panamanian who only looked good on paper, winning their WBA superflyweight eliminator at the Ynares Sports Center and lining himself up for a shot at the world title.

The 27-year-old Francisco, now undefeated in 20 fights, with one no-contest, sent Ricardo Nuñez to the floor twice midway in the opening round, and on the second knockdown he celebrated like the fight was already over.

Francisco stepped on the ropes of a neutral corner as referee Bruce McTavish made the count. But Nuñez, who didn’t looked like the fighter ranked No. 1 by the WBC and No. 2 by the WBA, managed to get up on his feet.

The fight lasted longer than was expected after the two knockdowns, but it was clear that Francisco was to run away with the victory. Nuñez, 118-2 as an amateur and now 18-2 as a pro, looked like a bum pretending to be a boxer.

The end came in the 2:52 mark of the fifth round, with Nuñez down on the floor like he was never going to get up.

Now, Francisco will have to wait for the winner of the May 8 fight between WBA superflyweight champion Nonuo Nashira and Hugo Cazares in Osaka. Whoever wins that fight will have to defend the title against Francisco.

“I wanted to finish the fight soon because the opportunity was there. It was my opportunity,” said Francisco.

In the main supporting bout, Niño Magboo retained the WBO Asia-Pacific superbantamweight title with a unanimous decision over the stubborn Rey Las Piñas of General Santos City.

Magboo threw the better punches early in the fight and had Las Piñas in trouble in the third when the native of General Santos City took a blow to the head and looked off-balance when his gloves touched the canvas. It was ruled a knockdown.

Al Sabaupan of the Philippines made short work of Heri Andriyanto of Indonesia who was stopped with less than a minute left in the second round, and the native of Batangas walked off the ring wearing the IBF Pan Pacific lightweight belt.

Sabaupan, who wears his hair and goatee like boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, used a short left uppercut to finish off his opponent, quite lucky to last two rounds, considering that he has lost five of his last six fights before climbing the ring.

Sabaupan improved to 12-0 with eight knockouts.

Lloyd Francisco, the brother of Drian Francisco, got a big scare in the ninth round but went on to beat Leonardo Doronio in their super-bantamweight contest.