Tepora halts Tinampay in 5th, Omega pugs triumph
Omega Boxing Gym’s Jhack Tepora connects to Jason Tinampay’s breadbasket (top photo) en route to a 5th-round knockout win (inset) in the main event of “Who’s Next” fight card at Robinsons Galleria Cebu. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Jhack Tepora showed why he could be the country’s next big thing in boxing after he scored a resounding victory in the main event of the inaugural “Who’s Next?” Pro Boxing Series last Sunday at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu Atrium.
Tepora floored Jason Tinampay with a crackling right to the body in the fifth round and annexed the WBO Youth Asia-Pacific title while keeping his unbeaten record intact.
“I was surprised that I was able to knock him down. He’s strong but I just stuck to the game plan which was to throw some combinations then body shots,” said the 20 -year–old boxer nicknamed “The Golden Boy,” who pocketed his 17th straight victory.
The hard–punching Tepora was accurate in the early rounds but Tinampay showed some flashes of brilliance with his pinpoint counterpunching.
Tinampay had his moment in the second round when he rocked Tepora with a right to the head.
“That was a solid shot. But I just shook it off and stayed focused,” said Tepora, who now has 12 knockout wins.
After some torrid exchanges, Tepora finally caught Tinampay with the crushing blow that sent his opponent to his knees. Tinampay failed to beat the count of referee Bruce McTavish, ending the fight at the 2:05 mark of the fifth.
It was Tinampay’s third loss in 10 fights.
It was actually a clean sweep for the Omega boxers as Tepora’s six stablemates also came out victorious in the undercards of the event presented by Omega Pro Sports International and backed by Hyundai Tucson, Robinsons Galleria Cebu, Harley-Davidson Cebu, Omega Pro Pain Killer and Y1O1.
Mark Vicelles scored a second-round technical knockout (TKO) win over Jerry Asora, Ar–ar Borbon pulled off his own second-round TKO win over Junjie Bautista, while Allan Villanueva also posted a second-round TKO triumph over Macmac Baribar.
Filjun Taneo went home with a sixth-round win over Anthony Galigao, Jerry Castroverde escaped with a majority-decision win over Ryan Quimbo, while Vergilio
Silvano labored hard before escaping with a unanimous win over Fernando Ocon.
Pio Paulo Castillo, president of Omega Pro Sports International, was naturally jovial after the well-attended event.
“I’m really happy for the boxers. By coming up with this boxing series, it will give them the thirst to really excel and I am more than ready to give them everything to help their careers,” said Castillo.
As for Tepora, the future looks even brighter for the unbeaten boxer, said Castillo.
“That guy has gone through a lot. As long as he continue to work hard, he is going to be something special,” said Castillo.
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