Only Dapudong lucky in Mexico

MANILA, Philippines - Three Filipino fighters went up against tough opponents in Mexico yesterday morning (Manila time) and only North Cotabato’s Edren Dapudong emerged a winner, scoring a spectacular first round knockout over highly favored No. 1 contender Jesus (The Destroyer) Jimenez to capture the vacant WBC “silver” flyweight title.

The losers were Rodel Mayol who yielded his WBC lightflyweight crown to archrival Omar Niño Romero on a unanimous 12-round decision and Richard Garcia who was blasted into submission by WBC Youth superflyweight titlist Juan Jose Montes.

Dapudong stunned the Mexican partisans by flooring Jimenez twice in the first round, prompting referee Gerald Ritter to stop the carnage at the 2:52 mark in Meson de los Deportes, Tepic, Nayarit. It was a sensational win for the unheralded M’lang native who snapped Jimenez’ streak of 15 straight victories, including a first round knockout over another Filipino Jojo Bardon in Tokyo last year.

Dapudong, who fights out of former North Cotabato Gov. Manny Piñol’s Braveheart stable, raised his record to 18-2, with 10 KOs, and lined himself up for a shot at the regular WBC crown held by Thailand’s Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. The win softened the impact of Filipino Richie Mepranum’s loss to Mexico’s Julio Cesar Miranda on a fifth round stoppage for the vacant WBO flyweight belt in Puebla last June 12.

Pongsaklek, 32, is a known tormentor of Filipinos. He wrested the WBC crown from Malcolm Tuñacao on a first round knockout in 2001 and repulsed 17 challengers, including Filipino Randy Mangubat, before losing the title to Daisuke Naito in 2007. Last March, Pongsaklek regained the throne on a majority decision over Koki Kameda. One of his victims was Filipino Lito Sisnorio who was knocked out in a non-title bout, lost consciousness and died in 2007.

The “silver” title is an innovation by the WBC and replaces “interim” championship bouts.

In the undercard of the Dapudong-Jimenez mainer, Garcia was trounced by Montes. The Filipino was floored once in the second and twice in the fourth by the 20-year-old Montes who improved his record to 18-1, with 12 KOs.

Mayol, 28, engaged Romero, 34, in a slam-bang grudge rematch. In their first meeting last February, Romero leveled Mayol with a sucker left hook to the jaw as the Filipino walked away, his guard down after taking a low blow. Mayol couldn’t continue and the fight was declared a technical draw in the third round, allowing the Filipino to retain the WBC title.

The return bout was fiercely fought. Romero was cut over the left eye in the fifth and the right eye in the seventh. With blood smearing his face, Romero wouldn’t allow Mayol any advantage and held his own until the final bell.

Panamanian referee Hector Afu slapped a one-point deduction on Mayol for a headbutt in the second round. In the end, the judges scorecards weren’t close. Puerto Rico’s Samuel Conde Lopez saw it 115-111 and Curacao’s Harold Laurens, 115-112, both for Romero. Daniel Mendoza, whose nationality was not ascertained, scored it an unimaginable 117-109, also for the Mexican.

“I thought Rodel fought a great fight,” said Mayol’s trainer Jesse Arevalo of Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym. “It’s not like he got blown away. I thought they took three points away from him. I saw Rodel ahead by at least two points up to the fifth round. He’s definitely still up there in the rankings. I’ll let him take a rest then we’ll go back to the gym, do some readjustments. I think he should be a lot more confident and aggressive. I felt there were instances when he hurt Romero on the ropes with combinations but didn’t follow up.”