BY NICK GIONGCO
REYMOND Yanong of the Philippines suffered a first-round knockout to American rival Genaro Gamez in their scheduled eight-round welterweight bout on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning in Manila) in Las Vegas.
Trapped on the ropes, Yanong fell after taking a vicious right to the jaw from Gamez.
The referee reached the count of ten but Yanong remained on all fours, dazed from the solid shot and from a body blow that landed just before the head connections courtesy of Gamez’s punishing fists.
Yanong came into the fight fresh from a victory 12 days ago also in Las Vegas.
Gamez, however, wasn’t sold on following the script Yanong had laid out and wound up messing with his opponent’s party plans.
Yanong became the second Filipino boxer to fight in the coronavirus era after Mike Plania.
Just last week, also in Sin City, Plania’s stablemate Mark Bernaldez lost a shutout decision, becoming the first to lose in the pandemic.
With Yanong losing badly, Bernaldez now has company in the losers’ circle.
