Cataraja walks away with UD win versus Blazo in Manila
Kevin Jake Cataraja of Cebu celebrates after winning by unanimous decision versus Jun Blazo in their non-title fight at the Midas Hotel in Manila on Tuesday. | Photo from Sanman Boxing
CEBU CITY, Philippines— World-rated Cebuano Kevin Jake “KJ” Cataraja once again proved that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the ring after dominating Jun Blazo last Tuesday night in Manila.
Cataraja, one of ZIP Sanman Boxing Team’s banner boxers, walked away with a unanimous decision win against Blazo in their eight-rounder bout held at the Midas Hotel in Pasay City.
The Tabuelan town native Cataraja got the nod of the three judges at ringside with the scores of 78-73, 78-73, and 77-74.
He remained undefeated in 17 fights with 13 knockouts.
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Cataraja didn’t show any ring rust despite not having to fight since February 2023.
The former ALA Boxing Gym prospect floored Blazo with a thunderous counter left hook in the third round.
Blazo barely got back on his feet but luckily survived the round.
Instead of finishing off Blazo, Cataraja remained patient, displaying his counter-punching prowess.
He landed most of the telling blows throughout the fight and also pinned Blazo against the ropes numerous times. He also landed power punches, although the latter kept pushing forward.
Cataraja kept his tenacity in the latter rounds, pounding Blazo with combinations to pile up the points en route to the unanimous decision victory.
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Blazo dropped to a 16-9-3 (win-loss-draw) record with 12 knockouts.
It was a fitting victory for Cataraja, who recently suffered a huge setback after his supposed OPBF title bout against Jayr Raquinel in Japan was cancelled.
His win over Blazo is expected to improve his current ranking in the super flyweight division.
Cataraja is ranked No. 11 in the IBF and 13 in the WBA.
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