Suarez, Martin prove superiority over rivals

MANILA, Philippines – There were no knockouts this time but Charly Suarez and Carl Jammes Martin still lived up to the hype by beating their rivals in the “Ultimate Knockout Challenge” on Saturday, December 4 at the Elorde Sports Center in Parañaque City.

Displaying the skills that made him a three-time Southeast Asian Games champion, Suarez nearly shut out erstwhile unscathed Delmar Pellio, 99-89, 99-89, 100-88, to stretch his winning streak to nine, six by knockout, and confirm his readiness to go after a regional title next year.

Now 33 years old, Suarez, a 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian, turned pro only in 2019 and is trying to make up for lost time and opportunities,

Pellio, showing some rust after two years without a fight, dropped to 9-1 with 4 knockouts.

Passing his toughest test thus far, Martin wrested the Philippine super bantamweight belt from veteran Mark Anthony Geraldo with scores of 117-111, 115-113, 115-113.

Rather than trade bombs with Geraldo, Martin opted for a hit-and-run tactic this time and thwarted Geraldo’s intermittent attacks to pad his clean slate to 18-0 with 15 knockouts.

Geraldo, who dealt International Boxing Federation super flyweight king Jerwin Ancajas his only loss way back in 2012, fell to 38-10-3 with 19 knockouts.

Like Suarez, Martin is prepping up to break through the international stage next year.

Michael Dasmariñas’ climb back to elite level got stalled, though, as his fight with Ernesto Saulong ended in a technical draw in the second round.

A former world bantamweight title challenger, Dasmariñas took the first round but an accidental clash of heads left Saulong with a deep, bloody cut, prompting the ring physician to ask the referee to stop the bout at the 1:12 mark.

Dasmariñas, who got stopped by Naoya Inoue in the third round on June 20, totes a 30-3-2 card with 20 knockouts. Saulong is 22-7-3 with 9 knockouts. – Rappler.com