A spectacular “Night of Knockouts” by promising Filipino fighters

Philippine boxing appears to have gotten off the canvas with a spectacular “Night of Knockouts” by promising Filipino fighters last Saturday.

In an initial thrust into Manila, Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions staged a full card headed by IBF light flyweight champion Johnreil Casimero, a fighter who typifies a rock star with a punch, against tough Mexican challenger Felipe Salguero at the Makati Coliseum in a free-to-the-public gesture that unwittingly perhaps undermined the integrity and value of a world title fight.

The ploy which failed to draw a large crowd also caused some concern among promoters who continue to have a hard time finding the funds to stage major fight cards without consistent TV network support and sponsor backing and are forced to have their fighters see action abroad and to face the constant reality of hometown decisions.

In stark contrast, despite the jitters of Cebu residents following a series of fairly strong aftershocks caused by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that ripped through nearby Bohol, fans crowded into the plush Waterfront Hotel and Casino Pacific Ballroom to witness “Pinoy Pride XXII”, another in the celebrated series born out of a partnership between the famed ALA Promotions now headed by youthful Michael Aldeguer as president and the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN.

Casimero, who first broke into the limelight on the Viva Sports presentation of “The Main Event”, made his first title defense before his countrymen a memorable one, dropping Saluguero in rounds eight and nine before putting him away in the eleventh with referee Wayne Hedgepeth showing no hesitation in waving it off to the delight of his promoter Sammy Gello-ani.

Salguero had previously lost in his bid to wrest the WBO light flyweight title from Donnie Nietes, giving the longest-running Filipino world champion a tough time in a fairly even contest.

However, against the 23-year-old Casimero, Salguero was decked three times, which accentuated the punching power and the growing maturity of Casimero.

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Among the distinguished guests at ringside was the astute Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who is known for his frankness.

Arum told Yahoo! Philippines that Casimero was “nothing sensational” but hailed him as “a pretty good fighter with a good punch and entertaining.”

That was good enough for Casimero, who had all along wanted to display his boxing skill and to make his countrymen happy since his title winning 10th round TKO over Luis Lazarte in Argentina on February 10, 2012 which was marred by a post-fight riot.

With Gello-ani unable to raise the funds required to stage a world title fight in the Philippines, Casimero was forced to defend his title abroad.

He had a tough time against Pedro Guevara in Sinaloa, Mexico before winning a split decision but had a much easier time against fancied Luis Alberto Rios of Panama, winning a 12-round decision in Panama.

With the backing of MP Promotions in a promotional effort handled mainly by Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz, Casimero fulfilled his dream of defending his title before his countrymen and rather than succumb to the pressure, he thrived on it to score one of his most impressive victories that upped his record to 19-2 with 11 knockouts.

Former world champion Gerry Penalosa’s protégé super featherweight Michael Farenas as expected scored a 2nd round TKO over Thai fighter Kosol Sor Vorapin with the Filipino southpaw being far too good and too strong for Vorapin, whose record of 17-17-1 with 12 knockouts failed to justify his choice as an opponent and did nothing to enhance the stature of Farenas.

Many considered it a pitiful mismatch,h more so since Farenas had given 2004 Olympic gold medalist and undefeated pro Yuriorks Gamboa (23-0, 16 KO’s) the fight of his life on December 8, 2012, even dropping the Cuban star.

While Casimero certainly earned the admiration of Filipino fight fans, the “Night of Knockouts” certainly belonged to newly crowned WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight champion Genesis “Azukal” Servania.

The sweet-punching Servania trained hard for his battle against former WBA super flyweight interim champion Rafael “El Torito” Concepcion of Panama who had gone the distance with Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire.

Concepcion, his confidence riding high since his shocking 10th round knockout win over he highly fancied AJ “Bazooka” Banal in a WBA super flyweight interim title fight some five years ago at the Cebu Coliseum, vowed to hand down a brutal beating much worse than what he inflicted on Banal.

In a gesture aimed at unsettling the 22-year-old Servania, Concepcion vowed to knock him out early and brought along a small blue pillow for Servania to rest on after he promised to put him to sleep.

Concepcion continued his aggressive posture even during the weigh-in when he pointed a finger at Servania who brushed it aside as they went face-to-face if not head-to-head to the delight of fans at the Ayala Active Center in Cebu.

Servania promised to make the cocky Panamanian eat his words. And he did so with unmitigated vengeance.

After Concepcion attempted to set the tone early in round one with his clubbing overhand right, Servania uncorked a cracking left hook followed by an overhand right that stopped the Panamanian in his tracks even as Concepcion resorted to holding.

Early in round two, referee Bruce McTavish warned Concepcion for holding and hitting. In a flash Servania caught Concepcion with a perfectly-timed, devastating uppercut as the Panamanian lunged forward sending him crashing to the canvas flat on his back.

Concepcion lay motionless for several minutes as doctors rushed to the fallen fighter and put an oxygen mask to help him recover.

It took several anxious minutes before Concepcion recovered. He was rushed to the Perpetual Succor Hospital as a routine precautionary measure and after a thorough examination was given a clean bill of health and allowed to leave.

In a retort for the insults heaped on him by Concepcion, Servania said "he will need the pillow" he had offered him before the right.

It was the most impressive performance of Servania whose footwork was sound, and who initiated rapid-fire combinations behind his jab, slipped punches and proved he was not merely a sweet-punching boxer but a fighter with devastating power that was good enough to take out a former world champion.

The official time of the knockout was 2:04 of the second round with McTavish not even bothering to count as Concepcion was out cold.

Servania, whose parents were at ringside, received a standing ovation from fight fans who crowded around the ring to congratulate the new WBO Intercontinental super -bantamweight champion who improved his record to 23-0 with nine knockouts while Concepcion fell to 18-7-1 with 8 knockouts.

The young prospect drew so much admiration from Arum, who told Yahoo! Philippines he would like to feature Servania in a bout on a planned February card in Macau.

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In the main supporting bout for the WBO Intercontinental super flyweight title "King Arthur" Villanueva continued his unbeaten streak with a sensational first-round TKO of Mexico's Edgar "Chololo" Martinez.

Villanueva caught Martinez with a left hook early in the opening round before dropping him for the second time in the round with a crushing right. Martinez was in no condition to continue and referee Tony Pesons waved it off at 1:29 of the very first round.

The win extended Villanueva's conquest of Mexicans which included a fourth-round TKO over Arturo Badillo last July 13. The reigning WBO Asia Pacific and Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation super flyweight champion improved his record to 24-0 with 14 knockouts.

If anything the “Night of Knockouts” last Saturday proved there are several promising young Filipino fighters ready, willing and able to step up and stand behind their hero Pacquiao, who seeks his own redemption when he clashes with Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios in Macau on November 24.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.