INQUIRER Sports

CEBUANO Malcolm Tuñacao regained the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) bantamweight crown with a split decision victory on Saturday over Korean Seung-Suk Chae in Mungyoeong, South Korea.

Tunacao, who trained at the ALA Gym for the fight, found the Korean a tough nut to crack, and had to dig deep into his boxing arsenal to come out the winner in two judges' scorecards. The third judge gave Chae the nod.

Prior to the fight, Tunacao had trained at the famed ALA Gym, then flew to Japan to spar with WBC bantam champ Hosumi Hasegawa prior to his Korean trip.

Chae, the Korean bantamweight champ, came well prepared for the fight, apparently aware of the talent of the Cebuano ex-world champ.

The Korean fighter had previously lost to ALA fighter Michael Domingo via unanimous decision in a fairly competitive fight which was the only blemish to his otherwise outstanding record prior to the Tunacao encounter.

With the win, Tunacao now stands a chance for yet another crack at the title being held by his good friend Hasegawa.

In an interview prior to his trip, Tunacao said he is willing to take on all comers, although he hesitated when asked about the possibility of fighting his Hasegawa, with whom he has worked several times as a sparmate. /CORRESPONDENTS Salven Lagumbay and Rene Bonsubre Jr.