Fiery Pagara brothers live up to hype, stop Mexican foes

CEBU CITY—Brothers Jason and Albert Pagara stopped their Mexican rivals Saturday night, providing a glimpse of Philippine boxing’s bright future in the twin mainers of “Pinoy Pride 26” at Waterfront Cebu Hotel and Casino here.

Jason, the older of the two, was methodical in breaking down Mario Meraz in four rounds, while Albert was sensational in blitzing Hugo Partida in the first round of the earlier fight.

Jason dropped Meraz with a left-right combination to the head in the first round, landed solid bloody blows in the second, staggered the Mexican in the third round with a barrage of blows before ending the carnage with another combination in the fourth.

Meraz was up on his feet at the count of eight, but the referee, lawyer Danrex Tapdasan, waived off the bout after the Mexican, glassy-eyed, fought to maintain balance when asked to walk forward.

The 21-year-old Jason thus retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) International light welterweight crown and improved to 24-2 with 21 knockouts.

It was the 20-year-old Albert, however, who left a lasting impression when he knocked down Hugo Partida, 26, three times, forcing referee Bruce McTavish to stop the battle for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Intercontinental junior featherweight title with still one minute and 18 seconds left in the first round.

Skill and power

Matching swagger with skill and power, Albert sneaked in a right to the jaw to floor Partida barely 40 seconds into the fight.

The pride of Maasin City then unleashed a fusillade that sent the Mexican falling to the ropes for the second knockdown. Another crackling left hook to the jaw convinced McTavish that Albert, who stretched his unbeaten run to 21 with 15 KOs, would only inflict more damage if the fight continued.

According to Tapdasan, he could have stopped the lopsided bout earlier when Meraz’s eyes rolled back following a left-right combination thrown by Jason.

Sensing that Meraz, (20-4, 16 KOs), was in danger of getting seriously hurt after nearly toppling over him while getting up, Tapdasan ended the rout.

“We don’t want a ring tragedy,” Tapdasan told sportswriters at Cebu International Airport yesterday. “He (Meraz) had received so many head blows. The safety of the fighters should always come first.”

Earlier, AJ Banal brushed off a flash knockdown early in the first round by decking Indonesian Defry Palulu with a torrent of body blows, capped by three hits to the left rib cage 2:59 into the second round of their bantamweight bout.

Banal rose to 31-2-1 with 22 KOs. Palulu, who absorbed his first defeat in 11 fights marked by nine KOs, gasped for air on the canvas when referee Tony Pesons counted him out.

Another sure Filipino victory went for naught when Jimrex Jaca was held to a technical draw by Japanese Masayoshi Kotake.

Jaca knocked down Kotake with a wicked right at the 2:04 mark of the first round, but a clash of heads in the third left a deep gash on Jaca’s right eyelid. The fight was stopped.

Elmo Traya decked Japanese Naozumi Tsuchiyama, who fought with a prosthetic right leg, three times in the first round. Referee Dan Nietes halted the fight with 2:40 gone.

Michael Aldeguer, president-CEO of ALA Promotions, said he would send the Pagara brothers to the United States for training and exposure.

“Albert was impressive,” said Aldeguer. “He showed his power against a world-rated (Partida is ranked No. 14) fighter.” “Jason showed what he’s made of in a brutal fight. We’ll find out if he’s ready for the big names as 140 (pounds) is a most formidable division.”