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Boxing: Dela Torre wins US debut but fails to impress

Ryan Songalia

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Boxing: Dela Torre wins US debut but fails to impress
Harmonito Dela Torre wins a majority decision against Guillermo Sanchez, but isn't likely to have won many fans with his performance

MANILA, Philippines – It was hardly Manny Pacquiao blowing away Lehlo Ledwaba, but Filipino prospect Harmonito Dela Torre managed a win in his American debut.

The 22-year-old junior lightweight from Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines won an 8-round majority decision over Puerto Rico’s Guillermo Sanchez on Friday, May 27 (Saturday Manila time) at the Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino in Niagara Falls, New York. One judge saw the fight even at 76-76, while the other two scored it 78-74 and 77-75 in favor of Dela Torre, who improves to 18-0 (12 knockouts).

Dela Torre, who was fighting for the first time under promoter Greg Cohen Promotions, was too easy a target for the southpaw left hands of Sanchez (15-19-1, 6 KOs), who has lost 17 of his last 19 bouts.

Full fight of Dela Torre vs Sanchez

The Filipino boxer missed many of his big punch attempts but pressed the action enough to get the better of most exchanges. Manager Jim Claude Manangquil was frank about Dela Torre’s need for significant improvement.

“It was not a good performance for Harmonito,” Manangquil says bluntly. “It’s a good learning experience for him. It was hard for him to recover from the jetlag and he hurt his right hand in the 4th round.”

Manangquil says Dela Torre will spend 7 months in Miami ironing out his skills with new trainer Osmiri “Moro” Fernandez, a Cuba native who works with former champion Ismael Barroso, and had previously trained world champions Yuriorkis Gamboa, Richar Abril and Guillermo Rigondeaux.

“He will be back better,” says Manangquil.

The fight was televised nationwide in the United States on CBS Sports Network.

Taconing title shot pushed back

Junior flyweight contender Jonathan Taconing has waited 4 years for his second shot at a world title and will have to wait just a bit longer after his fight with WBC junior flyweight champ Ganigan Lopez was pushed back from its original date of June 11 to July 2, Taconing’s manager Johnny Elorde tells Rappler.

Taconing (22-2-1, 18 KOs) of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines will travel to Mexico for the fight, where he had previously knocked out former titleholder Ramon Garcia last April. – Rappler.com

 

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