Six months after a crushing loss to Pongsiri Mitsatit, Robin Catalan made sure to bounce back.
The 31-year-old Ilonggo stunned Olympian Gustavo Balart with a right head kick for a second round knockout win with 4:43 left, Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“‘Yun talaga ang plano ko, pero ‘di ko inexpect na mangyari ‘yung head kick,” Catalan said, who raised his record to 10-6.
“Nagpe-fake ako sa baba tapos naka-guard siya, doon ako nag-head kick.”
Balart suffered his third straight loss to fall to 8-4.
Meanwhile, Roshan Mainam (4-2) started the night off with a quick submission win over Khon Sichan (3-5) in a flyweight bout.
Fellow flyweight Kim Kyu Sung (10-3) then upstaged Mainam in the next bout. He knocked out Akihiro Fujisawa (5-3) with a spectacular uppercut just a minute and eight seconds into their bout.
On the other hand, Korean featherweight Kim Jae Woong (10-4) utilized his knees to beat Rafael Nunes (11-3) with a third round, :38 KO.
In the first Muay Thai bout of the evening, Tukkatatong Petpayathai (243-33) eked out a split decision win over Hiroaki Suzuki (42-12).
