NEGRENSE boxer John Michael Zulueta retained the Asian Boxing Federation minimumweight belt with a unanimous-decision win over Mike Kinaadman on Sunday night at the Gaisano City Mall in Bacolod City.
It was the first successful title defense of the Calatrava, Negros Occidental native of the international boxing title he won after defeating Cris Ganoza earlier this year.
Zulueta was the aggressor early in his title-retention bout when he pummeled Kinaadman with multiple punches, including a huge left straight that rocked the defense of the latter.
Kinaadman attempted to turn things around in the middle of the fight but Zulueta regained his dominance with counterpunches to secure a favorable score from the judges.
The unanimous-decision victory will help the Negrense fighter improve his ranking and get a shot at tougher foes soon, Zulueta’s promoter Brico Langbay Santig said.
“It was not a walk in a park. Mike (Kinaadman) was not an easy customer,” Santig told Panay News. “His (Zulueta) boxing talent was really tested here. Good thing he had a lengthy preparation. He was conditioned.”
The 23-year-old Zulueta kept his unbeaten record (9-0-2, with three stoppage wins) while the 22-year-old Kinaadman dropped to 6-8-2, including four knockout wins.
Highland-Guanzon Boxing Promotion presented the fight in cooperation with the Mayor Evelio Bing Leonardia Boxing Development Program as part of the annual MassKara Festival./PN
