MANILA – Negrense boxer Joepher Montano captured the WBO Oriental welterweight championship via a second-round stoppage win over Thai fighter Wirojanasunobol Atchariya at the World Siam Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
This was the second time that the Bago City, Negros Occidental native captured the WBO 147-pound belt after previously winning it when he defeated Indian Kulbir Dhaka in 2022.
Montano and Atvhitaya were engaged in a heated battle from the opening bell as both fighters were throwing and landing power shots with the Negrense boxer dominating the power hits.
Atchariya saw some success early in the second round as he landed a rough combination on Montano’s head, but the Negrense fighter answered with a cracking long right hand on the chin of his opponent.
The solid hit sent Atchariya to the floor as the Thai fighter failed to beat the referee’s count, earning Montano an easy victory, his eighth consecutive victory since a split decision loss to John Ruba in 2019.
The victory also served as a revenge for Montano, who suffered a one-sided unanimous decision defeat to Atchariya during their non-title encounter in 2018 in Bang Phun, Thailand.
The 5-foot-8 Montano thus improved his record to 18-5-2 win-loss-draw ring record, while also registering his 16th stoppage win, while Atchariya saw his record dropped to 14-3-0, including 6 KO wins.
Meanwhile, Negrense Arthur Villanueva was not fortunate in his boxing return after suffering a fourth round stoppage loss to American Elijah Pierce at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.
Despite the Bago City-native Villanueva scoring a knockdown in the second round, he was not able to sustain his energy in the next two round en route to be knocked down by Pierce.
Villanueva’s record slipped to 35-5-1 win-loss-draw, including 20 victories by way of stoppages, while Pierce improved to 19-2-0, while also notching his 16th win by knockdown./PN
