AJ Paciones holds the WBA Asia light flyweight title after winning against Jonathan Refugio in Vietnam. | Photo from Paciones’ Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Vietnam-based Cebuano prospect Arvin John “AJ” Paciones captured the World Boxing Association (WBA) Asia light flyweight title in Ho chi Minh, Vietnam on Sunday evening, August 20, 2023.
The 18-year-old Paciones scored a huge upset, beating the more experienced Jonathan Refugio in their regional title showdown.
Paciones scored a sixth-round stoppage after Refugio refused to continue to fight before the seventh round started.
The victory improved Paciones’ unbeaten record to 5-0 (win-loss), with four wins via knockouts.
Meanwhile, Refugio, a veteran of 36 fights, dropped to a 22-10-5 (win-loss-draw) record.
Paciones effectively utilized his height and reach advantage against the shorter Refugio in their title bout.
Paciones dictated most of the rounds by being the more aggressive than Refugio. He landed accurate jabs and stinging straights that kept Refugio at bay.
He also pinned Paciones numerous times against the ropes and unloaded several combinations.
Refugio couldn’t handle the punishment and decided not to continue to fight during the break after the sixth round.
Meanwhile, two other Filipino boxers faltered in the undercard of the LEAD Professional Boxing-promoted fight card.
Sanman Boxing Gym’s Adam Diu Abdulhamid lost to Tajikistan’s Avzalbek Kuranbaev via a sixth round knockout for the WBA Asia South super welterweight title. Ernie Sanchez also lost to hometown boxer Hong Dat Vo via unanimous decision for the WBA Asia lightweight title.
/bmjo
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