Jonathan Refugio pulled off a big upset, overcoming the taller Richard Claveras to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) International light flyweight title last Saturday at the Taguig Sports Complex last Saturday.
Like the proverbial “David and Goliath” match-up, the 5-foot-1 Refugio (15-4-4) put up the best performance of his pro career, outfoxing the taller Claveras with his speed and timing to carve out a unanimous decision victory. The Bukidnon-native used quick-fire combinations from the get-go, disrupting Clavera’s distance that was essential for him to land his power shots, greatly affecting his offense en route to a score of 115-112, 115-112 and 116-112 from the ringside judges.
This gives Rufigio not only his fifteenth career victory, but also his first boxing title after having four different attempts in the past. He also registers his first back-to-back wins since dropping to Thai Knockout CP Freshmart via unanimous decision in Bangkok last March 2014. On the other hand, Claveras ended his two-fight winning streak and drops his record to 14-2-2.
In the co-main event, Ardin Diale was able to survive an early storm to successfully defend his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) flyweight title with a 115-113, 117-112, 116-112 unanimous decision victory against Jonathan Fransisco of Zamboanga City. In the lone female fight on the card, Carleans Rivas avenged her loss to Lady Love Sampiton to win the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) women’s flyweight title.
Also, Games and Amusements Board (GAB) crowned its new flyweight and welterweight champions, as Donny Mabao and Dennis Padua defeated their respective counterparts – Manto outpointed Michael Enriquez, 114-114-, 115-113 and 116-113 to earn the majority decision win while on the other hand, Padua needed seven rounds to dismantle Stephen Gelawa via TKO.
Here are the results from the event
Jonathan Refugio def. Richard Claveras
Ardin Diale def. Jonathan Fransisco
Donny Mobao def. Michael Enriquez
Dennis Padua def. Stephen Gelawa
Rene Daquel def. Mateo Handing
Carleans Rivas def. Lady Love Sampiton
Robert Udtohan def. Mike Espinosa
Erwin Jamito def. Jeven Villacite
Shin Ishikawa def. Arnold Garcia
Masazumi Furukawa def. Benjie Bartolome
Bener Santig def. Raymond dela Cruz
