MANILA – Negrense Jay-R Raquinel clinched the WBO Inter-continental super flyweight belt with a second round technical knockout win over South African Landi Ngxeke at the International Convention Centre in East London, South Africa.
The victory served as a bounce back for the Candoni, Negros Occidental-native Raquinel after suffering a unanimous decision defeat to fellow Filipino Giemel Magramo for the OPBF flyweight belt last year.
Raquinel had an aggressive start in the opening round as he caught Ngxeke with numerous left and right combinations. The African tried to retaliate with his own shots but could only hit the Filipino’s defense.
Raquinel heightened his aggression in the second round with solid combinations coupled with powerful body attacks that prompted referee Lulama Mtya to halt the match in favor of the Pinoy fighter.
Brico Langbay Santig, who served as the manager of Raquinel, said that they are planning to set up the Negrense fighter for a fight against WBO world super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka of Japan.
“It was an impressive victory for Jay-R. He really prepared hard and spent lengthy time sparring for this bout because he is undefeated and he never expected it to end this fast,” Santig said.
“For his next match, we are trying to negotiate for a world title clash. We are confident that Jay-R can keep in step with Kazuto,” added Santig, referring to Ioka, who recently defeated Negrense boxer Donnie Nietes.
With the victory, the 25-year-old Raquinel improved his boxing record to 13-2-1, including 10 victories by way of stoppages, while Ngxeke suffered his first loss after winning his first nine career bouts and drawing another one.
Meanwhile, Magramo failed to defend his OPBF flyweight championship following a unanimous decision loss to Japanese boxer Taku Kuwahara on Tuesday night at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
The 28-year-old Paranaque City-native Magramo saw his record dropped to 26-3-0, including 21 stoppage wins, while Kuwahara improved to 11-1-0, with six knockout victories./PN
