Aston Palicte. | Screen grab from the live stream
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former Filipino world title challenger Aston “Mighty” Palicte suffered a tough defeat in his return to the ring, falling to Japanese-American prospect Katsuma Akitsugi by sixth-round knockout in a non-title bout on December 11 in Plant City, United States.
The fight marked Palicte’s first since a year-long hiatus, but his comeback was met with a sobering reality as the younger, more dynamic Akitsugi proved too much.
The loss extended Palicte’s skid to three consecutive defeats, bringing his professional record to 28 wins, 1 draw, 7 losses, and 23 knockouts. In contrast, Akitsugi remained undefeated, improving to 12-0 with 3 knockouts.
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Despite the defeat, Palicte’s performance was far from one-sided.
In the opening round, he was aggressive, landing hard combinations that seemed to rattle Akitsugi. But the 27-year-old Japanese-American showed his composure, absorbing Palicte’s power punches and responding with sharp jabs and well-timed straights.
As the rounds progressed, Akitsugi’s counter-punching and technique began to outshine Palicte’s aggression. As the fight wore on, Palicte’s pace slowed, his energy visibly drained, but never wavered. Akitsugi, however, continued to press the attack, unloading precise combinations that gradually wore Palicte down.
In the sixth round, Akitsugi’s superior conditioning and sharpness became more evident. He cornered Palicte against the ropes and landed a brutal left hook to the body, which marked the beginning of the end.
Akitsugi quickly followed up with a barrage of punches that sent Palicte down to his knees. Though Palicte bravely attempted to recover, he was unable to beat the referee’s count, and the fight was halted at 1:07 of the sixth round, sealing Akitsugi’s victory.