Oscar Duarte (middle) takes time for a photo opportunity with his trainers and promoters after defeating Mark Bernaldez of the Philippines in Anaheim, California. | Photo from Duarte’s Facebook page.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Mark “Machete” Bernaldez fought valiantly in front of a largely Mexican crowd but fell short against the bigger Oscar Duarte at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California last June 11 (June 12, Manila Time).
The 28-year-old Butuan City native suffered his second consecutive defeat after being stopped by Duarte in the eighth round of their 10-rounder lightweight division duel.
The referee, Gerard White, stopped the bout with 53 seconds left in the eighth round after he had enough watching Duarte pounding Bernaldez with relentless combinations.
With the victory, Duarte improved his record to 23 wins with 18 knockouts coupled with a defeat and a draw. On top of that, Duarte extended his winning streak to eight while Bernaldez suffered his sixth loss with 23 wins and 17 knockouts.
The bout served as the co-main event of the Jaime Munguia versus Jimmy Kelly’s super-middleweight showdown co-promoted by DAZN, Zanfer Promotions, and ProBox Promotions.
Despite losing the bout, Bernaldez also had his fair share of good moments. He utilized his jabs and counter punches in retaliating against the more aggressive Duarte.
American Duarte started the bout aggressively by pressing forward, throwing accurate combinations and pinned Bernaldez numerous times against the ropes.
Bernaldez almost lost his footing in the opening round after getting hit with Duarte’s combination. Bernaldez then became more cautious in engaging Duarte in a toe-to-toe exchange.
He utilized his jabs to keep the American Duarte at bay, while the latter, managed to keep himself close and repeatedly targeted Bernaldez with relentless combinations.
The same scenario continued throughout the bout until the eighth round came when Bernaldez wasn’t able to respond from Duarte’s punches, prompting White to stop the bout.
In November 2021, Bernaldez suffered the same fate when he lost to another Mexican-American Andres Cortes via a third round TKO in Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas. The referee, Allen Huggins stepped in to stop the bout after Bernaldez got pummelled with combinations.
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