Farenas KOs Davis to earn title shot

CEBU, Philippines - Filipino super featherweight contender Michael ‘Hammer Fist’ Farenas (38-4, 30KOs) gets a chance to fight for the world title after scoring an impressive eight round stoppage against previously undefeated Mark ‘Too Sharp’ Davis (18-1, 5KOs) at the Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila).

The bout was an IBF world title eliminator wherein the winner will fight for the IBF world championship against the victor of the showdown between current champion Argenis Mendez of the Dominican Republic and Cuban Rances Bartahlemy on July 10.

In a report from fightnews.com, the 30-year-old Filipino warrior inflicted a cut in the right eye of Davis with a punch in round one. This gave Farenas an advantage as he aggressively attacks the American landing some big shots.

Farenas, the protégé of former two-division Filipino world champion Gerry Peñalosa, staggered Davis in the fifth round, but the American boxer managed to kept his composure and continue to fight in the succeeding rounds.

The winning moment came in the eighth round after Farenas unleashed a flurry of punches that sent Davis reeling into a corner.  Referee Steve Smoger was forced to step in to halt the carnage in at 0:59 of the round.

The Sorsogon-native Farenas will now be rated No.2 in the IBF super featherweight ranking. (FREEMAN)