Laurente puts on show in Blow-by-Blow

MANILA, Philippines — Undefeated Criztian Pitt Laurente wasted no time in dispatching journeyman JR Magboo, knocking him out in the opening seconds of their main event fight in the Manny Pacquiao-revived Blow-by-Blow boxing show at the Mandaluyong City College Gym last Sunday.

Laurente (11-0, 7 KOs), a former youth amateur standout, caught Magboo (18-8-2, 7 KOs) with a vicious left straight-right uppercut combination to the head just 45 seconds into the first round, sending the latter down for the count to win the vacant Philippines Boxing Federation super featherweight championship.

The 22-year-old, like Pacquiao a southpaw hailing from General Santos City, was the aggressor from the opening bell and tagged the overmatched Magboo with crisp blows prior to the knockout.

Laurente’s emphatic victory capped off the 64-round card witnessed by Pacquiao at ringside.

The former eight-division world champion, accompanied by Mandaluyong City Mayor and boxing patron Benjamin Abalos, revived Blow-by-Blow as a way of giving back to the show that served as his springboard when he started his pro career in the 1990s.

Pacquiao promised to hold similar boxing cards throughout the Philippines on a monthly basis, and these fights will be recorded for airing on Cignal TV beginning January next year.