In his international debut, light flyweight Mark Lester Durens made quick work of his opponent in the 2021 Asian Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships held at the Grand Ballroom of the Le Meridien Hotel in Dubai, UAE, Tuesday evening (Manila time).
Durens’ tough right proved to be too much for Kuwait’s Mansour Khalefah in a first round referee stoppage win to advance to the semifinals of his weight division.
Stunning his opponent with 10 seconds left in the opening stanza, Durens sensed blood, connecting on a powerful overhand right for a standing count. It proved to be enough as referee Dr. Beki Poroska deemed that the Kuwaiti could no longer continue.
Durens will next face Indonesia’s Kornelis Kwangu Langu, who defeated Kazakhstan’s Daniyal Sabut via a dominant unanimous decision, on Friday.
Photo from Asian Boxing Confederation
Also having a successful outing was bantamweight Junmilardo Ogayre, who took a unanimous decision win against Sri Lanka’s Rukmal Prasanna, 30-27×3, 29-28×2.
Ogayre, already assured of a bronze finish will face top seed Uzbekistan’s Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov also on Friday.
Photo from Asian Boxing Confederation
Light welterweight John Paul Panuayan, on the other hand, was eliminated from the continental meet, bowing to top seed Bakhodur Usmonov of Tajikistan via a third round RSC.
Photo from Asian Boxing Confederation
Women’s lightweight Maricel Dela Torre also succumbed to Indonesia’s Huswatun Hasanah via a lopsided majority decision, 27-30×4, 26-30.
On deck for Team Pilipinas tonight is Olympian Eumir Marcial who will face Mongolia’s Otgonbaatar Byamba-Erdene. Byamba-Erdene defeated Iraq’s Ridha Talib Jabbar last Tuesday.
