Fuentes admits loss but blasts champ

CEBU CITY, Philippines – ALA fighter Rocky Fuentes conceded his loss to Thai Amnat Ruenroeng in their 12-round bout for the vacant IBF flyweight title in Nakhon Ratchasima last Wednesday but paid no respect to the winner for resorting to wrestling and dirty tactics to avoid a toe-to-toe confrontation.

Fuentes, 27, had won 15 in a row, including five in Japan, before facing Ruenroeng in his first world title shot. He was supposed to battle Olympian McWilliams Arroyo in Puerto Rico in an IBF championship eliminator but grabbed the chance to fight for the vacant throne on a 10-day notice.

Filipino matchmaker Aljoe Jaro arranged the fight for his Thai partner Jimmy Chaichotchuang who won the purse bid to stage IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane’s defense against Ruenroeng. Moruti, however, relinquished the throne as he refused to stake his crown in Thailand for a paltry purse. The IBF then declared the title vacant and picked No. 5 contender Fuentes to meet No. 7 Ruenroeng for the championship. Jaro said Chaichotchuang asked him to find an opponent for Ruenroeng after Moruti’s withdrawal to save the promotion.

“I could’ve gotten an opponent from Japan or Mexico or some other country but of course, I wanted a Filipino to get the opportunity,” said Jaro. “I was in an awkward position during the fight because my brother Francisco was in Ruenroeng’s corner. My brother used to train fighters in Korea and moved to Thailand last year. He took over from Ruenroeng’s English trainer who went back home. Although I was supposed to be neutral, I sat beside Dennis (Canete) at ringside. I wanted Rocky to win. He did his best. We saw the effort. But Ruenroeng is hard to beat. He used veteran moves. He never gave Rocky a chance to engage. He hit from a distance and when Rocky got close, he clinched or ran or pushed him down or circled away. Rocky has the potential to become a world champion but must work on his power and learn how to cut the ring off on fighters who like to hit-and-run.”

Fuentes was disconsolate. “Ruenroeng never hurt me,” sighed Fuentes who returned home Thursday night. “My face is clean but I have two lumps on my head because of headbutts. I was pushed down at least five times. I’ve never fought anyone like him. I trained hard, I was in good condition. I watched his fight against (Julius) Alcos on tape and he fought a different style. Against Alcos, he stood in front of him and they engaged. Against me, he ran and clinched. He didn’t come to fight, he came to wrestle and hold. I think he just wanted it to go 12 rounds because he knew he would win the decision. My only chance was to win by knockout and that’s why he stayed away. The referee kept warning him for holding but never deducted a point. So Ruengroeng wasn’t afraid to foul. I knew what I had to do – pressure, throw combinations, don’t allow him to hold, shorten the distance between us. But I couldn’t do what I wanted.

He kept holding and pushing. I never hurt him because I couldn’t hit him solid, he kept slipping away. But he never hurt me or hit me solid either.”

Jaro said the referee was Australian and the three judges were from Australia, Germany and Thailand. The scores were 116-112 twice and 117-111. Jaro said his personal score was 117-113, also for Ruenroeng. “It wasn’t Rocky’s fight,” he noted. “The Thai isn’t strong but he knew what he had to do to win.” Fuentes arrived in Bangkok five days before the fight with Canete and cornermen Edmund Villamor and Michael Domingo. They never left their hotel in Bangkok because of street demonstrations against the Prime Minister until motoring three hours to Nakhon Ratchasima two days before the bout.

Fuentes said the loss motivates him to work harder in the gym. “I’ll go back to training right away,” he said. “I hope I get another opportunity, another offer. The title wasn’t for me that night. But I learned a lot from losing. I don’t know if I’m still the OPBF flyweight champion. Maybe, they’ll declare the title vacant after I fought for the IBF championship. No matter what, I’ll be ready for whatever (ALA Promotions president) Sir Michael (Aldeguer) wants me to do.” Fuentes won the OPBF title in 2010 and has made six successful title defenses.

Fuentes was paid $10,000 for the fight. His biggest paycheck was $12,000 for each of his four OPBF title defenses in Japan. “When I was single, I used to give my purses to my parents but since I got married two years ago, I give only 1/2 or 1/4 because now, I live separately with my wife (Jade) in an apartment where I pay rent of P3,000 a month,” he said. “My wife has a property in Bohol, near Talibon, and we plan to build a home soon. If I had won the championship, we would’ve started plans to start a family. Now, we have to wait a little longer for our first child.”