2 Filipinos halt foreign rivals

MACAU—Filipinos Dan Nazareno Jr. and Harmonito Dela Torre proved their mettle with quick stoppages over foreign rivals in the non-televised bouts of “The Clash in Cotai” here Sunday.

The 24-year-old Nazareno, learning from his sparring sessions with Manny Pacquiao, caught fellow spar mate Liam Vaughan of Liverpool, England, with a barrage of punches in the second round of their super welterweight tussle, prompting the referee to halt the bout with 59 seconds to go.

Dela Torre, a 19-year-old rising star from General Santos City, took a little bit longer with a third round knockout of Indonesian veteran Jason Butar-Butar in the curtain-raiser of the 10-bout card.

Nazareno, who hails from San Fernando City, Pampanga, raised his record to 18-10, including 14 knockouts.

Now under the tutelage of Diosdado and Jonathan Peñalosa, the 5-foot-9 Nazareno showed vast improvement in notching his third win in nine foreign outings.

According to Nazareno,  he learned a lot from sparring with Pacquiao, whom he said threw the hardest punches he’d ever felt.

Nazareno, a former Paba light welterweight champion, is also a regular sparring partner of veteran Dennis Laurente.