DOWN BUT NOT OUT

ALA Boxing Gym’s Raul Yu (left) exchanges punches with Jade Bornea at the Lagao Gym in General Santos City.

ALA Boxing Gym’s Raul Yu falters in General Santos but vows to bounce back

General Santos City — Raul Yu of ALA Boxing Gym in Cebu City fell short in his campaign to become a regional champion but the youthful boxer vowed to come back strong after enduring a sorry unanimous decision (UD) loss to undefeated Jade Bornea last Sunday night in the main event of the Laban Pinoy 3: Rise of Champions at the Lagao Gym here.

Yu looked good in the early goings, targeting his opponent’s head with a one-two combination before going for body shots.

But in the so-called championship rounds, the 22-year-old boxer suffered a big blow when a clash of heads resulted to a deep cut in his right eyebrow in the eighth stanza.

With blood oozing from the nasty cut, Yu continued to move forward in a courageous effort, but Bornea did a splendid job of slowing down his opponent with timely counter shots.

“The bleeding really bothered me. I could not see his punches anymore,” said Yu, who dropped to 9W-2L-2D-8KOs. “I thought I really had it, I was right there in my pace. I don’t want to make excuses but the cut greatly affected the outcome of the fight.”

The win netted Bornea, a prized fighter of the General Santos City-based Sanman Boxing Gym, the IBF World Youth super flyweight belt. He also stayed undefeated in seven fights with four KO wins.

“I feel so sad with the loss, but this is part of the trials of being a boxer. I’ll come back strong,” Yu said.

Yu may have lost the fight but earned some respect, especially from Bornea.

“That was my toughest fight as a pro. I learned so much from this fight. Yu is a tough, resilient fighter. He was a big test for me and I am fortunate to overcome the challenge,” Bornea said.

Yu also drew praises from Jim Claude Manangquil, CEO of Sanman Promotions and promoter of the fight card that drew a mammoth crowd.

“Yu showed he is well-trained and well-prepared. He gave Bornea a good fight. I’m sure he will bounce back,” said Manangquil.

Aside from Bornea, three other Sanman fighters went home with regional belts.

Eden Sonsona made short work of Jovani Rota to clinch the WBF International super featherweight title.

Sonsona (36W-6L-2D-13KOs) bombarded Rota (9W-10L-0D-6KOs) with a series of head and body shots, sending the latter down to his knees.

Ben Mananquil, on the other hand, wrested the WBF International bantamweight belt with a UD win over Glenn Porras.
All the judges scored the bout at 97-93.

Mananquil improved to 13W-1L-2D-3KOs, while Porras slipped to 29W-6L-0D-17KOs.

Lolito Sonsona, younger brother of Eden, annexed his own belt, pocketing the WBF Asia-Pacific super flyweight title by beating Renren Tesorio via UD.

Two judges scored the fight at 96-94, while the third official had it 97-93.

Lolito now has 21 wins, nine by KOs, with only one loss and four draws.

Tesorio dropped to 15W-10L-3D-4KOs.

In other fights, former world champion Randy Petalcorin forced Mark Florida to quit before the start of the seventh round to chalk up a technical knockout win, while fellow Sanman fighter Mike Angelo Plania pulled off a sixth-round TKO win over Jetly Purisima.

Jayson Mama and John Moralde, also from Sanman, likewise emerged victorious with the former nailing a UD win over Jeffrey Alejandre and the latter scoring a third-round TKO win over Philip Parcon.

Ernie Sanchez knocked out Richard Betos in the first round, while China’s Ou Yuzhou bucked a first-round knockdown to score a second-round KO win over Holly Quiñones.