Filipino boxer Joebert Alvarez suffers first round KO loss

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxer Joebert Alvarez suffered the second loss of his career on Friday, July 15 (Saturday Manila time) as he was knocked out by unheralded Philadelphia native Miguel Cartagena in the first round at the Kissimmee Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

Alvarez (15-2-1, 7 knockouts), a native of General Santos City, Philippines now based in California’s Bay Area, was knocked down less than a minute into round one by Cartagena (15-3, 6 KOs), and rose up on unsteady legs before follow-up punches forced the referee to jump in at the 1:07 mark.

The loss stops the momentum Alvarez had accrued, which included earning a number 7 ranking by the WBA at flyweight. Alvarez had knocked out Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez in 6 rounds in his most recent fight in March and went 10 rounds in a non-title decision loss to WBA/WBO flyweight titleholder Juan Estrada in 2014. Cartagena had been coming off 3 straight losses.

Alvarez’s trainer Nonito Donaire Sr chalked the defeat up to carelessness, saying on Facebook: “He was winning and trying to finish the guy in the [first] round. Big mistake.”

The loss is the latest in a slew of recent setbacks for Filipino boxing, following the knockout loss of junior featherweight prospect Albert Pagara and Jonathan Taconing’s loss to Ganigan Lopez for the WBC junior flyweight title. – Rappler.com