Jhack “El Capitan” Tepora of the Omega Boxing Gym knew it would be difficult to come out victorious if his bout against South African Lusanda Komanisi went the distance and to the scorecards.
So, the 24-year-old Cebuano wasted no time in disposing his foe, knocking down Komanisi in front of his home fans in just the second round to bag the vacant WBO intercontinental featherweight title Saturday dawn (Philippine time) at the Orient Theatre in East London, Johannesburg, South Africa.
It was an impressive victory for the unbeaten Tepora, considering that it was his first fight abroad.
“It was a very worthy experience for me,” Tepora told Cebu Daily News. “Our game plan was to really knock him out because if it reached 12 rounds, I know that they will give him a hometown decision victory.”
Tepora landed a solid right hook to the head that sent Komanisi crashing down the canvas just before the bell rang to end the second round. The South African boxer tried to beat the referee’s count but failed.
Tepora is still spotless after 21 fights and 16 of his victories are by knockouts.
Komanisi suffered his fourth defeat in 25 fights.
The victory also proved that Tepora made the right decision in moving up to the featherweight division.
He was supposed to fight under the super bantamweight division in a “Who’s Next?” fight card last July in Bohol against Mexican Emmanuel Rodriguez. But organizers canceled the fight card after his teammate Christian Araneta, who was also supposed to fight in that card, suffered an injury during training.
Tepora previously held the WBO Asia-Pacific Youth and WBO Oriental super bantamweight titles before giving them up to shift to the featherweight division.