Jomary Torres clearly felt disappointed with the events of ONE: Fire and Fury last Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. And it is the same for her head coach Rene Catalan.
The 24-year-old native of Zamboanga City, who was on a four-fight losing streak, was off to a quick start against former atomweight title challenger Jenny Huang. However, she was stopped in her tracks by an illegal hit.
Huang caught Torres with an unintentional hit to the groin — not once, but twice.
“Kaya ko pa naman nung umpisa, pero ‘yung pangalawa masakit na. Hindi na kaya,” recalled Torres during the post-event press conference.
“Tinuhod niya ko sa ano ko ng dalawang beses. Kaya ko pa naman sana pero dalawang beses na tumama doon eh.”
Officials declared the bout a no-contest, dropping Torres to a 4-4-1 record.
Frustration was the mood of Catalan afterward, saying that the bout should have been scored in favor of his ward.
“Masama ‘yung loob namin kasi two times na illegal na ‘yun. I was expecting na disqualified na siya eh. Kung i-base natin dun, may deduction na ‘yung una, so automatic panalo na. Na-surprise ako bakit naging no-contest,” expressed Catalan, also one of the top strawweights in the world.
“Actually, I will e-mail ONE Championship a protest. Hopefully, they respond.”
Still, both Torres and Catalan harbor no ill will towards Huang. But accident or not, they hope that the result is overturned.
“It’s just a sport,” said Catalan.
“Nangyari lang talaga ‘yun. Mahirap naman kung gagantihan ko siya,” quipped Torres.
