Pitpitunge KOs foe in 1st round, wrests bantam title

MANILA, Philippines - Crisanto Pitpitunge used a combination of power punches to knock out Guam’s Justin “The Shocker” Cruz in the first round and wrest the bantamweight crown in the Pacific X-treme Combat 31 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig recently.

The 25-year-old Pitpitunge, fighting out Baguio City’s Team Lakay, exchanged blows with Cruz right from the start but the Filipino sneaked in a vicious right straight to the latter’s face, sending the Guamanian to the canvas and unconscious for a few seconds.

Pitpitunge then charged like a bull, delivering a couple more punches on the fallen 26-year-old Cruz, prompting referee Toni d’Angelo to issue a warning.

But it didn’t stop Pitpitunge from nailing his third straight win in the PXC and fourth overall in five fights as a mixed martial artist. He became the second Filipino to win in the PXC after flyweight Ale Cali, who beat Guam’s Jesse Taitano in PXC 29 early in the year.

Cruz absorbed his fifth defeated against 18 wins as he endeda two- and-a-half-year reign..            

Cruz, a known ground and pound fighter, came into the fight a bit rusty, his last fight coming less than a year ago.