By NICK GIONGCO
Two weeks after Mike Plania’s landmark win, another Filipino fighter took the limelight on Friday (Thursday night in the US) after winning a his six-round bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Reymond Yanong was awarded a split decision win over Clay Burns of Fort Worth, Texas, in an action-packed super-lightweight curtainraiser during Top Rank show headlined by hot Australian prospect Jason Moloney.
It was the second victory by a Filipino in the coronavirus era and next week, Mark Bernaldez will attempt to join Plania and Yanong on the growing list of winners when he fights in another Bob Arum card.
Judges Chris Migliorr and Julie Lederman scored it 58-56 and 59-55 for Yanong while Tim Cheatham had it 58-56 for Burns.
The win boosted Yanong’s record to 11-5-1 with nine KOs while the setback saw Burns’ slate slide to 9-8-2 with four KOs.
Yanong was a bit off in the first two rounds, allowing Burns to take the early lead in the eyes of the judges.
But the Negros Oriental native buckled down to work and was on the offensive in the second half of the fight, leaving Burns with no recourse but to concentrate on slowing down Yanong.
Yanong, like Plania and Bernaldez, have been in the US since March, allowing Top Rank to easily sign them up for fights given the rigid travel restrictions.
