By REYNALD MAGALLON
Filipino boxers lit up the fireworks early after Carl Jammes Martin, Weljon Mindoro and Fil-Am DJ Zamora delivered sensational knockout victories across the globe.
Mindoro was the first to end his year with a bang with a fourth-round stoppage over Australian Joel Camilleri on Saturday, Dec. 7 in Dubai before Martin also scored a fifth-round knockout win over Ruben Tostado Garcia in Mexico and Zamora a second round demolition of Argentine Roman Ruben Reynoso in the US both on Sunday, Dec. 8.
The Zamboanga-native Mindoro displayed his firepower and pummeled Camilleri with heavy hits before a left-right-uppercut combination ended the fight to claim the International Boxing Association (IBA) Asian middleweight crown with no less than Filipino Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao in attendance.
The 24-year-old kept his record pristine with 14 wins all by way of knockout against a draw while sending the veteran Camilleri to 29-9-1 record with 14 KOs.
Over at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, the Filipino-American Zamora turned heads in the undercard of the Emmanuel Navarrete-Oscar Valdez rematch.
He unloaded a vicious left hook counter that sent Reynoso down to the canvas in their eight-round junior lightweight fight.
It was Reynoso’s second for the night – a knockdown from which he never recovered as he wobbled while trying to get up, enough for the referee to halt the fight with 1:03 left in the second stanza.
Ramirez, who traces his roots in Olongapo, improved to a perfect 15-0 record with nine KOs while Reynoso dropped to a 22-6-2 slate.
Equally impressive, meanwhile, was Martin who unleashed a right-left hook combination to take down Garcia in their 125-pound catchweight fight at the Evolution Club in Tijuana, Mexico.
The Mexican was actually the one putting the pressure on the Ifugao warrior when he caught him in the corner and unloaded a series of punches on the Filipino.
Martin, however, retaliated with a left that stopped Mexican from his assault and forced him to backpedal. The 25-year-old then went for the chase and delivered the finishing blow to the head of the retreating Garcia, ending the fight with still 1:28 left in the round.
Initially slated last Nov. 30 but was delayed for a week, the fight served as Martin’s confidence builder before embarking on a world title chase next year. He remained undefeated through 25 bouts with 20 via knockouts.
