SUMMARY
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There’s a lot to love about the sweet science – the strategy, the athleticism, the valor. We’ve covered much of that in my year-end awards for Philippine boxing earlier this month. Now it’s time to focus on the knockouts, the pinnacle of dominance in the sport.
Some of these we touched on in the awards story, but some missed the cut. Here’s a selection of knockouts from the pro scene in 2017 for your enjoyment.
Jonas Sultan KO8 Sonny Boy Jaro
May 7 – Angono, Rizal
Sultan was too quick, strong and young for the aging ex-champ Jaro, who was brave to the very end.
Milan Melindo TKO1 Akira Yaegashi
May 21 – Tokyo, Japan
Three quick knockdowns later and Melindo finally fulfills his dream to become a champion.
Rey Megrino KO1 Yuki Strong Kobayashi
March 11 – Hong Kong
First serious punch landed, 23 seconds in. Doesn’t get much more efficient than that.
Romero Duno KO2 Christian Gonzalez
March 10 – Los Angeles
Gonzalez tried to back up Duno from the opening bell, but someone forgot to tell him that Duno can punch.
Edward Heno KO9 Cris Ganoza
March 19 – Makati City
This leaping uppercut knockout was reminiscent of Prince Naseem Hamed, and the heavy-handed Laguna native has since leapt to the OPBF junior flyweight title.
Filipino boxer Edward Heno (10-0, 4KO) with the Hamed-esque leaping right uppercut knockout of Cris Ganoza in a battle of unbeatens pic.twitter.com/o0YjmRlpY1
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) March 19, 2017
Mark Magsayo TKO1 Daniel Diaz
July 8 – Cebu City
Magsayo continues his campaign to secure bigger fights, destroying an experienced but faded former title challenger.
Recky Dulay KO3 Jaime Arboleda
July 15 – Inglewood, California
Recky? More like Wreck-y, as the LA-based puncher from Northern Samar paints the first loss on the previously-unbeaten Panamanian.
Jhack Tepora KO2 Lusanda Komanisi
September 22 – East London, South Africa
As noted in my year-end awards, Komanisi falls the wrong way like a bad WWE bump. And Tepora now has a win that justifies his prospect distinction.
Jerwin Ancajas TKO6 Jamie Conlan
November 18 – Belfast, Northern Ireland
Was a bloody, one-sided affair with Ancajas pummeling Conlan’s body something fierce. When the ref started calling every significant body shot low, Ancajas finished him upstairs.
Mark John Yap KO10 Seizo Kono
December 3 – Osaka, Japan
What’s not to love about a body shot KO?
Bonus: Reymart Gaballo TKO2 Ernesto Guerrero
November 15 – Honolulu, Hawaii
Gaballo makes his US debut in style against an experienced Mexican foe, scoring two knockdowns to stay unbeaten.
Reymart Gaballo (17-0, 15KOs) knocked out Ernesto Guerrero in two rounds last night in his US debut in Honolulu. First KD was on a right hand, then body shot finished it #boxing pic.twitter.com/kj7JLd5ek5
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) November 16, 2017
– Rappler.com
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