MANILA – Veteran Filipino boxers Benjain Mananquil and Edward Heno took home WBO and OPBF regional championships, respectively, in separate title matches in Japan.
Mananquil captured the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight championship recently after a unanimous decision win over Japanese Tenta Kiyose at the Wink Budokan in Himeji, Japan.
After starting low, Mananquil went toe to toe with Kiyose in the next few rounds before dropping Kiyose to the canvass in the eighth.
The Japanese fought back but was no match to the stylish Filipino.
“This win is so sweet because I won it far away from home. Kiyose was tough but I had him figured out. I am so happy to bring home this belt. I dedicate the win to my family, to my SanMan team and to my countrymen,” Mananquil said.
With the victory, the 26-year-old Mananquil improved his boxing record to 17-1-3 with four stoppage wins, while the 22-year-old Kiyose dropped his slate to 15-3-1 with seven knockout wins.
Heno, on the other hand, successfully retained his OPBF light flyweight title after a unanimous decision victory over Japanese Koji Itagaki at the NTT Cred Hall in Hiroshima, Japan.
It was the third successful defense of the Baguio City native Heno to the championship he won at the expense of Seita Ogido in 2017.
He managed to defend the crown last year against Bacolodnon Merlito Sabillo and fellow Pinoy Jesse Espinas.
The victory improved the boxing slate of the 26-year-old Heno to 14-0-5 with five knockout wins, while the 35-year-old Itagaki dropped his record to 18-14-3 with seven KO wins./PN
