Vicelles beats Francisco in Kumbati 17 mainer

Mark Vicelles dropped to his knees after the announcement was made that he won against Albert Francisco in the main event of the ‘Kumbati 17’ fight card. | Photo from Omega Boxing Gym

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Omega Boxing Gym’s Mark “Rasta Mac” Vicelles continued his redemption journey with a convincing win against countryman Albert Francisco in the main event of the “Kumbati 17” fight card on Saturday, June 29, at the IPI compound in Brgy. Tingub, Mandaue City.

Vicelles dominated Francisco in their 10-rounder bout en-route to earning a unanimous decision victory. Judges Kristoffer Embodo and Rolando Mendoza both scored 97-92, while Noel Flores had it 96-93, all in favor of Vicelles of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat.

The victory improved Vicelles’ record to 19 wins with 11 knockouts, one defeat, and one draw. It was his back-to-back win since losing to PMI Bohol Boxing Stable’s Regie Suganob in February 2023 for the IBF junior flyweight world title eliminator in Bohol.

READ: Vicelles, Francisco ready for “Kumbati 17” showdown

Meanwhile, Francisco absorbed his first defeat in 13 fights. Despite his loss in “Kumbati 17,” Francisco of Zamboanga City remains a promising prospect who has eight knockouts in his resume.

READ: Vicelles takes on Francisco for the IBF regional title in June

Fifth round knock down

Vicelles knocked down Francisco in the fifth round after he landed two consecutive uppercuts that caught Francisco off-guard.

Francisco immediately got back up from the knockdown and continued to fight. Still, Vicelles landed the cleaner combinations and threw more punches which convinced the judges to award him the victory.

Vicelles and Francisco were supposed to fight for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) Asia flyweight title, but their bout was later on downgraded to a non-title fight due to unknown circumstances.

In the co-main event of “Kumbati 17,” Cebuano AJ Paciones proved that he’s ready for bigger fights after defeating former world champion Rene Mark Cuarto via split decision in their 10-rounder non-title bout.

Two judges scored it 96-93, while the other one saw Cuarto won the fight, 95-94, to come up with the split decision in favor of Paciones.

In the undercard, veteran Jason Canoy Manigos defeated Japanese Kakeru Mashimo by split decision.