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By Noli Cruz, Junior Desk Editor
THERE was an invasion Sunday. It was quick,
explosive and brutal. But in the end, it proved harmless.
The invaders fell into landmines named Gerry Peñalosa,
Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and AJ “Bazooka” Banal.
Peñalosa (53-6-2, 36 KOs) cleaned up the mess
of the twin explosions masterminded by Bautista and Banal with a
surgeon-like destruction of Thailand’s Ratanachai Sor Vorapin
(72-10, 48 KOs) to the delight of the boisterous crowd that packed
the Araneta Coliseum.
It was a virtual no-contest right from the
opening bell.
With Peñalosa’s rapid jabs finding their
target early and often, Vorapin was reduced into a hapless human
punching bag.
Referee Genaro Rodriguez finally showed mercy to
the game but overmatched challenger by stopping the fight, 2:31 into
the eighth round. A few seconds earlier, Peñalosa floored Vorapin
with left-right combination to the head.
“Knockout na talaga ang hanap ko pagkatapos
n’yang tumumba,” said Peñalosa after successfully defending his
World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight belt.
It was only the third knockout loss suffered by
Vorapin, his second against Peñalosa.
The pride of San Carlos City also stopped
Vorapin nearly eight years ago in the sixth round of their super
flyweight encounter at the Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Parañaque.
The country’s first line of defense against
the invaders was also up to the task.
Banal (17-0, 14 KOs) stopped the highly-touted
Caril Herrera of Uruguay (21-0, 13 KOs) in just four rounds to win
the eliminator for the International Boxing Federation super
flyweight world No. 1 ranking.
It wasn’t long before the invaders heard
it—Boom-Boom.
The sound of freedom.
Armed with a renewed confidence and the usual
swagger of a youthful fighter, Bautista (25-1, 18 KOs) retained his
WBO inter-continental super bantamweight title with a second round
TKO of Mexican Genaro Camargo (16-4, 10 KOs).
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