MANILA – Albert Pagara finished off Ghanian boxer Laryea Gabriel Odoi in three rounds to claim the WBO Inter-Continental super bantamweight title in “Pinoy Pride 44” at the Maasin City Sports Complex.
It was the second time that the Maasin City, Leyte native captured the WBO Inter-Continental belt since winning it at the expense of Nicaraguan William Gonzales in 2015.
Pagara appeared to have regained his old form with a dominant performance in the first two rounds on Saturday night. The Filipino extended his dominance in the third as he scored a knockdown that forced the Odoi’s corner to throw in the towel at the 2:30 mark.
“Like what I said (during the press conference), I will knock him out and add to my list of victims here in Maasin,” Pagara told Panay News after the match.
With the victory the 24-year-old Pagara improved his record to 30-1-0 win-loss-draw including 21 knockout wins while Odoi’s slate dropped to 20-4-2 with 14 stoppage wins.
Meanwhile Negrense Arthur Villanueva made a triumphant ring return as he scored a seventh-round stoppage victory over Renren Tesorio in the co-main event of the fight card presented by ALA Boxing Promotions.
As if he was not away for half a year, the Bago City, Negros Occidental native peppered Tesorio with combinations and jabs from the start before forcing the latter’s camp to surrender early in the seventh.
The victory allowed the 29-year-old Villanueva to increase his boxing record to 32-3-0 with 18 knockout wins while Tesorio’s record slid to 16-13-3 with four knockout wins./PN
