MANILA – Negrense Jay-R Raquinel clinched the WBC Continental Americas super flyweight belt with a unanimous decision win over Mexican Yahir Alan Frank Verdugo at the Hermosillo, Mexico.
This was the second consecutive victory of the Candoni, Negros Occidental-native Raquinel this year following his second round technical knockout win over Thai Komgich Nantapech last May.
Raquinel had an aggressive start in the opening round as he caught Verdugo with numerous left and right combinations. The Mexican tried to retaliate with his own shots but could only hit the Filipino’s defense.
Raquinel heightened his aggression the rest of the way his solid combinations coupled with powerful body attacks en route to securing a 115-113, 116-112, 117-111 decision from the judges.
Brico Langbay Santig, who served as the manager of Raquinel, said he is delighted with the dominant performance of the Negrense fighter as he hopes to set him up for a world title clash in the future.
“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.
With the victory, the 27-year-old Negrense fighter improved his boxing record to 17-2-1, including 13 victories by way of stoppages, while Verdugo suffered his first loss after winning his first 17 career bouts.
Raquinel is currently rated No.10 by the WBC, 12th by the International Boxing Federation, and 15th by the World Boxing Organization./PN
