GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines — Kenny Demecillo (11-3-1, 7KOs) of Cebu’s Omega Boxing Gym reaffirmed his dominance over Sanman Stable star Daryl Basadre (14-3-1, 10KOs) in a brutal and decisive manner.
In a surefire ‘Fight of the Year’ that literally electrified the crowd, Demecillo overcame a second-round knockdown on the way to dismantle Basadre in round eight and add the WBF Asia Pacific strap to his WBA Oceania bantamweight belt in the main event of the highly successful ‘Brawl at the Mall: Revenge or Revalidation’ fightcard witnessed by a sea of screaming fans last Saturday night at the Gaisano Mall of GenSan Atrium here.
Basadre, who lost by a controversial second round knockout to Demecillo during their first meeting three months ago, appeared to be on his way to serve revenge when he dropped his former tormentor on both knees with a solid right uppercut to the chin midway in round two.
Basadre tried to go for the kill, but Demecillo courageously held on his ground and even figured in a heated exchange with his foe towards the end of the round to the delight of spectators.
After surviving the ordeal, Demecillo fought back with renewed vigor and had his moment in round four when he pinned Basadre against the ropes with a barrage of body shots, then followed it up with a left straight that sent the GenSan fighter staggering as the bell sounded.
It was a battle of nerves from thereon, but Demecillo dictated the pace in the next three rounds where he effectively used his head-hunting tactics coupled with relentless body attacks to break down the counter-punching Basadre.
Demecillo was in his best element in round seven when he landed a powerful overhand left to the chin that momentarily took Basadre out of his senses, standing still while being peppered with an assortment of punches by the charging Cebuano boxer.
Basadre, though wobbly and glassy-eyed, miraculously weathered the onslaught, but it was pretty obvious that it’s only a matter of time before he will meet his frightening end.
Seeing that his foe hasn’t recovered from his punishment, Demecillo kept on throwing combinations that eventually sent the fagged out Basadre crashing onto the canvas, writhing in pain and gasping for air. It was at this point that referee Abdul Marajan was forced to wave off the bout, something that he should have done earlier. The official time was 2:45 of round eight.
Demecillo laid flat on the mat for several minutes and had to be aided by oxygen tank while being attended by paramedics. He was then rushed to GenSan Doctors’ Hospital and is now out of danger.
“I thought the referee would stop the bout after I hit him hard with a solid left in round seven,” said Demecillo. “But I knew from there that it’s only a matter of time before I’m going to finish him off.”
“Still, I take my hat off Basadre because he’s not only a tough fighter, he’s also a strong puncher. He hurt me several times,” added Demecillo, who sustained a swollen left face caused by Basadre’s sharp jabs. “But I’m happy that I was able to erase all doubts about my victory during our previous encounter. That’s means a lot to me.”
It was not all heartbreaker though for Sanman Boxing Club as one of its promising wards in Rimar Metuda (8-0, 4KOs) scored a resounding TKO win at 1:41 of round five over Jason Tinampay of Bohol to snatch the WBF Asia-Pacific featherweight crown.
The flashy Metuda fractured and bloodied Tinampay’s nose in round three and the Boholano boxer wasn’t never the same again.
Four other Sanman mainstays led by WBC Asia featherweight champion John Vincent “Mulawin” Moralde also kept their unbeaten records intact.
In one of the most exciting match-ups, Moralde (14-0, 7KOd) prevailed over Jerry Castroverde of Cebu’s Omega Boxing Gym via an unpopular unanimous decision that got booed by the crowd.
Reymart Gaballo (10-0, KOs) stopped Frejun de la Cruz of Jun Placido-Marbel at 2:33 of the opening session, while Markquil ‘Gunz’ Salvana (9-0, 3KOs) forced former Philippine flyweight champion Philip Parcon to throw in the towel at 1:46 of round six.
Not to be outdone, Mike Angelo ‘Magic’ Plania (7-0, 4KOs) came up with the shortest bout of the evening when he sneaked in an energy-sapping right straight to the rib-cage that flattened Ronald Magluyan of VMS Gym-Zamboanga for good in just 38 seconds of the opening round.
Sanman’s Jenny Boy Buca (9-2, 9KOs), on the other hand, made an impression when he easily destroyed Michael Padayag of Leonil Lazarito Stable of Bukidnon within two rounds, in the same way with Raymond ‘Tornado’ Tabugon (17-3, 6KOs) in his masterful first round TKO of Jong Sabellina of Zamboanga’s VMS Gym.
Cebuano pug Joy Formentera (7-1, 4KOs) of Howi and Ablaca Stable based in Liloan stole part of the show after eking out a split decision triumph over Sanman’s Engelbert ‘Aguila’ Moralde.
The blockbuster show that definitely set a high standard in terms of boxing promotion in southern Philippines was bankrolled by Sanman Promotions led by Jim Claude Manangquil, Dexter Tan and John Ray Manangquil. It was made possible through the support of Gaisano Mall of GenSan, Mount Sabrina Resort, San Marino Tuna, Sydney Hotel, San Andres Fishing Industries, philboxing.com and Congressman Manny Pacquiao. (FREEMAN)