Boxing: Jade Bornea faces tough Thai in Polomolok step-up

MANILA, Philippines – Unbeaten prospect Jade Bornea will take his next step towards contention when he faces Thailand’s Jakkrawut Majoogoen in a 10-round fight for the IBF Youth super flyweight belt on September 9 at the Polomolok Gym in Polomolok, South Cotabato, Philippines. 

Bornea (8-0, 5 knockouts) of Arakan, Cotabato del Norte had been a standout amateur before turning pro in 2014, winning two gold medals at the Asian Youth Games in a career that saw him get wins over 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Murodjon Akhmadaliev, plus WBO junior flyweight champ Kosei Tanaka and KJ Cataraja.

He’ll be facing his stiffest test as a professional in Majoogoen (19-1, 11 KOs), whose lone defeat came by seventh-round knockout against current WBC flyweight champ Daigo Higa in 2015. 

“This is a major step for Jade Bornea towards a world title,” said promoter Jim Claude Manangquil of Sanman Promotions. “We are bringing a quality opponent for Jade and this will be the first real test of his young career but we are confident and I believe in two years or less he will be a world champion.”

The Bornea-Majoogoen fight will be the co-feature to the Ben Mananquil vs Jess Rhey Waminal 12-round bantamweight fight, which will have the interim OPBF bantamweight title at stake. Mananquil (no relation to the promoter) vs Waminal has the makings of an exciting Zamboanga vs Bukidnon fight. 

The card will be the second to be streamed on the promotion’s Facebook page as “Sanman Live,” a multi-camera operation with real-time editing. Live-streaming the fights allows Sanman to sidestep the local television networks’ disinterest with broadcasting local boxing, putting their fight cards in front of an international audience.

“The first one was just our test and we had a positive result for a small card,” said Manangquil. “I think this is a game changer for boxing, especially now that most of the time people are on their phones. Why not bring the fights [to] their phones?”

Duno on lightweight title card on September 23 

Romero Duno will have his second pro outing in Los Angeles on September 23 when he faces an opponent to be announced on the Jorge Linares-Luke Campbell WBA lightweight title fight undercard at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Manangquil, who promotes Duno alongside Golden Boy Promotions, said Duno is already back at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, training with former world champion Rodel Mayol. 

The 21-year-old Duno (14-1, 13 KOs) had a breakout performance in March, knocking out touted prospect Christian Gonzalez in two rounds to earn the promotional deal with Oscar de la Hoya’s company. He stayed busy in June with an easy second round technical knockout of Jason Tinampay in General Santos City. 

“This is a massive opportunity for Romero Duno to showcase his talents and show everybody that his win over ‘Chimpa’ Gonzalez is no fluke,” said Manangquil. “We thank [matchmaker] Robert Diaz and Golden Boy Promotions for the opportunity.” – Rappler.com