Marlon Tapales posing for a photo with his team. | Photo from Sanman Boxing
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world champion Marlon “Nightmare” Tapales and former interim world champion Reymart “Assassin” Gaballo had contrasting outcomes in their respective bouts on Saturday, May 10, at the Midas Hotel in Metro Manila.
Tapales, the former WBA and IBF world super bantamweight champion, put on easy work against Nattapong Jankaew of Thailand to clinch the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Asian Continental super bantamweight title via first-round knockout in the main event.
READ: Comeback fight: Tapales set to battle Thai boxer for WBC title
Meanwhile, Gaballo lost to Mexican Kenbun Torres in a shocking first-round technical knockout in the co-main event.
With his most recent win, the 32-year-old Tapales, a two-division world champion, improved his record to 38 wins with 20 knockouts and four losses.
READ: Tapales holds firm in top 3 spot of the 122-pound division
He floored Jankaew three times in the first round, forcing referee Jerrold Tomeldan to stop the bout at the 2:15 mark of the round.
Jankaew absorbed his fourth loss with 12 wins and eight knockouts in his first fight in the Philippines.
MEXICAN STUNS GABALLO
In what was supposed to be a tune-up fight, Gaballo, a former WBO interim world bantamweight champion, ended up getting knocked down three times en route to a first-round TKO loss to the unheralded Torres.
READ: Gaballo faces Mexican in Tapales-Jankaew co-main event
Reymart Gaballo recovering from a knockdown. | Screen grab from the live streaming
Torres proved that he was no pushover against the heavily favored Gaballo after flooring the latter with a left hook.
He introduced himself to Gaballo with a vicious counter left hook that wobbled the latter’s legs. Sensing a knockdown, Torres pressed forward and landed another left hook that downed Gaballo.
Kenbun Torres getting his hands wrapped before his fight with Reymart Gaballo. | Facebook photo
Gaballo was able to get back on his feet in the first knockdown, but a few seconds later, he was floored again with the same punch. Gaballo was already groggy but was able to beat the referee’s count only to get knocked down again for the third time.
Torres pinned Gaballo against the ropes while launching a flurry of combinations, ending it with a short left hook, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
Gaballo suffered his second loss with 27 wins and 22 knockouts, while the Japan-based Torres improved to a 14-5 (win-loss) record with 10 knockouts.