Amparo, Auxilio fall short in Tokyo bouts

Jake Amparo (left) and Reycar Auxilio (right). | Facebook photos

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Visayan boxers Jake “El Bambino” Amparo and Reycar Auxilio came up short in their respective bouts at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday night, March 31.

Amparo, from the renowned PMI Bohol Boxing Stable, suffered a unanimous decision loss in an eight-round contest against Japanese fighter Takero Kitano.

Meanwhile, Auxilio, representing the Big Yellow Boxing Gym, faced a second-round technical knockout (TKO) defeat at the hands of rising Japanese prospect Ren Ohashi, also on the same fight card.

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Amparo, 27, who has previously challenged for a world title, endured three knockdowns against Kitano but managed to stay resilient, pushing the Japanese fighter to his limits.

Despite the setbacks, the Boholano Amparo demonstrated his toughness, absorbing the knockdowns and continuing to fight fiercely. He kept Kitano engaged in a relentless toe-to-toe battle, even managing to wobble the undefeated Japanese fighter on multiple occasions with timely counters. Ultimately, Amparo was outpointed by the judges, with scores of 69-80, 70-79, and 69-80.

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With the loss, Amparo’s record now stands at 16-7-1 (win-loss-draw) with four knockouts. Kitano, on the other hand, remained unbeaten, improving to 8-0-1 with three knockouts.

REYCAR AUXILIO

In contrast, Auxilio’s bout against Ohashi ended in a more decisive manner.

READ: Big Yellow’s Reycar Auxilio debuts in Japan on March 31

The Cebuano boxer, who came out aggressively, was knocked down early in the first round by a straight left from Ohashi. Although Auxilio regained his footing and fought back, the second round proved to be his downfall.

Determined to recover, Auxilio launched a flurry of power punches, but a well-timed uppercut followed by a short left straight from Ohashi sent him crashing to the canvas, forcing the referee to stop the fight at the 1:22 mark of the round.

Auxilio’s record now stands at 7-5-1 with six knockouts, while Ohashi, in just his third professional fight, remains undefeated at 3-0, with all his wins coming by knockout.