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[av_heading heading=’Bacolod boxer Raquinel takes title in Japan’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Thursday, March 15, 2018
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MANILA – Jay-r Raquinel bucked the odds of fighting in the opponent’s home turf to claim the OPBF featherweight title via a ninth-round, technical-knockout win over Japan’s Keisuke Nakayama at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
The victory Tuesday night allowed the 21-year-old Bacolod City native to formally bag the belt after settling for the interim title in his majority-decision win over Richard Rosales last year.
Raquinel immediately made his presence felt as he caught Nakayama with numerous left and right combinations. The Japanese tried to retaliate but could only hit the former’s defense.
The Filipino heightened his aggression in the fifth round as he scored his first knockdown in the match with a solid left. Nakayama countered with his own attacks in the sixth and seventh rounds but these were not enough to wobble the Bacolodnon fighter.
Raquinel regained his bearings in the eighth frame as he peppered Nakayama with left straights. He again floored the Japanese fighter midway in the ninth round with another solid punch, prompting the referee to end the match.
With the win, Raquinel sustained his 9-0-1 win-loss-draw record, including six stoppage wins. The 29-year-old Nakayama’s boxing slate dropped to 10-3-2 with four knockouts.
Brian Lobetania, meanwhile, failed to duplicate the victory of Raquinel as he suffered a technical-knockout loss to the Japanese Hidenori Otake for the OPBF super bantamweight title.
Lobetania, who hailed from Pangantucan, Bukidnon, suffered his fifth defeat to go along with 13 wins and three draws. Otake, on the other hand, improved to 31-2-3, with 14 knockout wins./PN
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