Into travels to Saudi Arabia for WBC Grand Prix Round of 16 clash

Jerald Into (right) with his trainer Markquil Salvaña (left). | Photo from Into’s Facebook page

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Jerald “Truman” Into, the last Filipino still in the hunt at the World Boxing Council (WBC) Grand Prix, is bound for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for his Round of 16 bout on June 20.

The undefeated super lightweight and his trainer, Markquil Salvaña, flew to Riyadh on Monday, June 16, aiming to score another win in this prestigious tournament organized by the WBC in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, led by adviser Turki Al-Sheikh.

Into, 25, earned his spot in the Round of 16 after outclassing American Ahmad Muhammad Jones in the Round of 32 last April 18 at the BLVD City Global Theater in Riyadh.

The judges scored the fight 59-55, 58-56, and 58-56, all in favor of Into, who delivered a composed and calculated performance across six rounds.

The General Santos City native, who fights under Sanman and Quibors Boxing Team, now holds a perfect record of 12 wins with 9 knockouts.

Into will now face Sanatali Toltayev, a former Kazakh amateur standout who impressed in his own Round of 32 outing. Toltayev scored a sixth-round technical knockout over Venezuela’s German Brochero, dropping his opponent in the fifth and again in the sixth before the referee stopped the fight at the 2:26 mark.

While Toltayev’s win was dominant, he enters this matchup with far less professional experience than Into. The Kazakh holds a 3-0 record with 2 knockouts.

Three Filipino boxers were originally tapped to compete in the WBC Grand Prix. However, Into remains the lone Pinoy standing after Cebuano Bryx Piala and Crisalito Beltran suffered defeats in their respective Round of 32 bouts.