Sizzler in Muntinlupa

In what has to be a hot candidate for local Fight of the Year honors, stylish Niño Magboo lost his WBO Oriental superbantamweight crown to rugged challenger Jessie Alabarracin via a dramatic eighth round stoppage before a wildly-cheering, standing-room-only crowd at the Sto. Niño Plaza in Muntinlupa last Saturday night.

It was a thriller from start to finish. Magboo, making his initial defense of the 122-pound title, held his ground in the early going, trading power punches with the rampaging Albarracin. What seemed evident was Magboo’s inability to stop Albarracin in his tracks – the dusky challenger from Tony Dacer’s stable in Davao City took the champion’s best shots and kept charging in like a Sherman tank without brakes.

The fans who packed the basketball court beside the Sto. Niño church were treated to a slam-bang slugfest that had no dull moment. Albarracin seized control in the fifth round but Magboo, a proud warrior, wouldn’t take a step back. Albarracin threw caution to the wind, attacking relentlessly like a mad dog, and repeatedly hurt Magboo in fierce close-quarter exchanges.

In the seventh, Magboo upped his work rate and courageously fought off Albarracin who probably wondered what more he could do to stop the champion. In the eighth, Albarracin appeared to slow down. Sensing the challenger may be tiring, Magboo got careless along the ropes and took a hard left hook to the jaw. He dropped to the canvas, badly shaken.

Referee Bruce McTavish counted to eight. Magboo was back on his feet but wobbled a bit when McTavish signalled for him to move forward, a referee’s measure to check a fighter’s condition after a knockdown. McTavish thought of halting it then and there. He looked into Magboo’s eyes and saw the look of a champion who didn’t want to give up. McTavish gave him a reprieve.

Without hesitation, Albarracin went in for the kill. A right straight snapped Magboo’s head back and as his eyes rolled, McTavish stepped in at the 1:50 mark. Two of the three judges had Magboo ahead when the bout was waved off. Danrex Tapdasan saw it 68-66 and Manny Mananquil, 67-66, both for Magboo while Salven Lagumbay scored it 67-66 for Albarracin. The Star had it 67-66 for Magboo.

Albarracin, 25, celebrated his victory by doing a somersault in the ring. He tricked Magboo into a false sense of security by playing possum early in the eighth and when the opportunity came, struck like a bolt of lightning. Magboo never saw what hit him.

“The kid (Albarracin) wasn’t human,” said McTavish. “I’m surprised he’d lost three fights before. It was a split second decision on my part to end it. That’s all God gives me in the ring and it could be the difference between life and death. It was the same thing when I stopped Brian Viloria’s fight against Carlos Tamara in the 12th round. I won’t hesitate to stop it if I see a fighter in danger of being seriously injured, regardless of how little time is left before the end of the fight.”

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Promoter Elmer Anuran, who is Magboo’s manager, was downcast after the brawl that kept the fans on their feet until past midnight. He had plans of taking Magboo overseas to campaign for bigger game. But it’s not over for the Touch Gloves stable star whose record dipped to 12-2-1, with five KOs.

“Niño wants a rematch and we’ll do it in the undercard of Viloria’s next fight in Manila on Nov. 7,” said Anuran. “He was ahead in two of the three judges scorecards. I was just surprised how big Albarracin was the night of the fight because at the weigh-in the day before, they were both 121 pounds.”

WBO Asia Pacific president Leon Panoncillo said it was a heckuva battle and readily agreed to sanction a return bout between the southpaws.

Albarracin, a knockout artist, has now won 12 of 13 fights inside the distance, losing only to Rey Megrino (L10), Ronnie Pelonia (KOd3) and Roli Gasca (L10). The prospect of a long career, however, may be dim because Albarracin takes too many punches. There’s no doubt he’s got dynamite in his fists but without a solid defense to rely on, Albarracin may see his career diminish early because of wear and tear. If only Albarracin could improve on his defense, he’ll definitely go places – he’s a crowd pleaser, a devastating puncher and a gutsy gladiator.

As for Magboo, he’s got to prove himself against Albarracin in a rematch. How he bounces back from a loss will give you an idea of the size of his heart. Surely, Magboo won’t want to let Anuran and his fans down.

The fight will be shown on “Saved By The Bell” this Sunday at 3 p.m. on Solar TV.

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On the same card, Anuran’s prized protégé Drian Francisco engaged Ariel (Machine Gun) Delgado in a spirited sparring session. Francisco, the WBA No. 1 superflyweight contender, impressed the fans with his defensive and offensive moves. Delgado, who outweighed Francisco by about 10 pounds, could hardly touch the man called “Gintong Kamao.”

 Anuran said Francisco may take on either No. 6 contender Roberto Sosa of Argentina or No.14 Vicyor Zaleta of Mexico in a tune-up before his mandatory crack at the WBA crown against champion Hugo Cazares early next year. Cazares is set to stake his belt against Peru’s Albert Rossel in Mexico on Oct. 9. If Cazares retains the crown, he will be ordered to defend against Francisco next.

Francisco was ready to face Cristian Mijares next month but the Mexican backed out of the fight where the Filipino would’ve defended his WBA International 115-pound title. 

Sosa has a 19-0 record, with 11 KOs, while Zaleta’s mark is 16-1, with nine KOs. Both are dangerous opponents for Francisco who said he doesn’t care if he fights Sosa in Argentina or Zaleta in Mexico. It’s a big risk to take on contenders with a title shot in the bag but Francisco is confident he’ll mow down whoever stands in his way to the throne.

In other Muntinlupa fights, flyweight Aston Palicte stopped Arjie Toquiro at 2:01 of the first round, featherweight Jun Doliguez disposed of Joy Pol at 1:43 of the first, superflyweight Iranio Samilliano pounded out a unanimous six-round decision over Norman Arenas, superflyweight Jay-R Magboo beat Leo de Guia by a unanimous six-round verdict, superbantamweights Rene Manlapaz and Rene Bestudio fought to a third round technical draw, bantamweight Jetro Pabustan defeated Rey Sumapig by a unanimous 10-round nod, featherweight Edgar Gabijan knocked out Lloyd Francisco at 0:41 of the eighth and lightflyweight Lolito Sonsona repulsed Michael Rodriguez by a unanimous 10-round decision.