Albert downs cocky Rios in first round, Jason wins via 8th-rnd unanimous decision
Jason Pagara (left) connects on an uppercut against Mexican Ramiro Alcaraz.
(philboxing.com)
Dubai UAE – One brother survived a nasty cut in the first round to win by unanimous decision. The other did not let his opponent survive the opening stanza.
“Prince” Albert and Jason Pagara showed why they are currently the hottest toasts of Philippine boxing by overpowering their respective Mexican opponents Friday night in the featured bouts of Pinoy Pride 32: Duel in Dubai 2 at the crammed Za’abeel Hall of the Dubai World Trade Center, here.
Albert, the younger of the fighting siblings, successfully retained his IBF Intercontinental super bantamweight belt with a scintillating first-round knockout of cocky Mexican Jesus Rios.
The 20-year-old power puncher stretched his unbeaten record to 24 wins with 17 knockouts by decking Rios with bone-crushing combinations to the head.
The brash Mexican earlier predicted that Albert Pagara will not last five rounds. Instead, he spent more than five minutes on the canvas while paramedics tried to revive him.
“He was too strong and too good for me tonight,” Rios said through his interpreter. He failed to meet the mandatory 122-pound limit during the official weigh-in last Thursday despite given two hours to make the weight.
“Nagpasalamat ko sa suporta sa mga fans, dako kaayo nig tabang namu nga mudaug (I thank the fans for their support, this helped us win), Albert said in a post-match interview.
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Indeed the predominantly Filipino crowd, part of the record attendance in the blockbuster sequel, provided much-needed support to the Filipino fighters, egging them on with wild chants of their names in stretches when they were in dire straits.
“Ako pud ning i-dedicate akong kadaugan sa tanang mga Filipinos nga nag ampo sa among kalampusan diri, ug labi na nilang sir Mike og Tony Aldeguer ug sa ABS CBN,” said Albert Pagara, who, along with his brother, will headline ALA Promotions International’s first card in the US on Oct. 17 in Carson City, California.
HARD-EARNED WIN
Jason Pagara, on the other hand, continued blazing the comeback trail by scoring an 8th-round unanimous decision victory over another Mexican, Ramiro Alcaraz despite being bloodied in the first round from an accidental butting of heads.
But Jason controlled most of the succeeding rounds until referee Ver Abainza stopped the fight in the 8th round of the scheduled ten-rounder when another cut was inflicted on Alcaraz in the same area.
‘Prince’ Albert Pagara stares at his fallen opponent Jesus Rios in the first round of their encounter at the Pinoy Pride 32: Duel in Dubai 2 in Dubai, UAE.
(philboxing.com)
All three judges scored the bout for Jason Pagara as the Filipino improved his record to 36-2 with 22 knockouts.
It was the brothers’ first international fight.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Meanwhile, veteran Jimrex “Executioner” Jaca scored a unanimous decision win, surviving a fourth-round knockdown in what was easily the fight of the night.
Jaca (40-8-4, 5KOs) was cruising in the first three rounds with powerful combinations to Mexican Pablo Lugo Montiel.
The Filipino, however, was caught off guard in the fourth and was knocked down by a wicked right uppercut right smack on his chin.
Jaca survived the knockdown but fought on survival mode from thereon, flinching even spitting his mouthguard thrice just to get reprieve.
Referee Samson Libres gave Jaca a warning for spitting out his mouthpiece.
The fifth round was also a struggle for Jaca, who fought on wobbly knees but he survived the round with the egging of the Filipino crowd.
“Abi naku mapildi naku ato kay naglisud nakug barog. Ang crowd lang gyud ang naka encourage nako nga mupabilin pa gyud ug nagapsalamat ko sa Ginoo kay nakabawi raku sugod sa 6th round (I thought I was going to lose because I had a difficult time staying up. It was the crowd who encouraged me to continue. I thank God that I was able to recover from the start of the sixth round),” a visibly spent Jaca told CDN at the fighters’ dugout.