The Philippines scored a 5-1 victory over Mexico to clinch the $500,000 World Cup boxing showdown at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.
Diosdado Gabi, Michael Domingo, AJ “Bazooka” Banal, Z “The Dream” Gorres and Gerry Peñalosa literally ruled their respective opponents with iron fists to the delight of flag-waving Filipino fans that had come to witness the dominance.
But the day turned sour, though, for the previously undefeated Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista who was knocked down right in the first round by Daniel Ponce de Leon, who avoided a shutout for the Mexican side.
Peñalosa produced the most noteworthy victory as he knocked down a heavily-favored Jhonny Gonzales with a one-punch during the seventh round, to clinch the WBO bantamweight title.
Peñalosa, a former WBC super flyweight champion, was behind in the scorecards of all three judges, until he caught the fiercely-looking Mexican with a solid punch that all but settled the issue. A rematch is said to be in the offing between Penalosa and De Leon.
Gabi started what would become a Filipino show as he scored an 82-70 win over Jose Angel Beranza in their junior bantamweight clash. He improved his record to 30-3-1 win-loss-draw.
Michael Domingo, the least-favored among the Filipino boxers, followed suit as he stunned an undefeated Miguel “Mickey Mouse” Roman in a six-round bout for a 60-54 victory. He now has an equally-enviable 32-14-2 record, with 25 knockouts.
“Bazooka” Banal, on the other hand, bombarded Jorge Cardenas with right hooks in the third round, producing the win with still 28 seconds left after the referee ruled the latter to be no longer unfit to continue the fight following his twisted ankle. He remained unscathed in his 15 fights, including one draw.
Gorres, still recovering from a recent laser surgery for a tiny tear in his retina, then, came in to share the limelight by beating Eric Ortiz via technical knock out.
The referee stopped the fight after Gorres created a gush over the left eye of the Mexican, whom he caught with a barrage of punches in the eight round. He thus added the Mexican into his growing list of victims. He now has 26 wins, with seven losses and a draw. He had previously knocked down 17 opponents.
It could have been a total Filipino show, if not for the fate that befell Boom Boom Bautista, the emerging sensation who was previously undefeated, but was decked right in the first round by his Mexican counterpart.
Filipino fans came out in full force waving Philippine flags and various banners and engaged a boisterous Mexican crowd in a wild cheering frenzy. But the noisy Mexican crowd soon became silent as the Filipinos started to dominate the ring.
Arman Carandang
