MANILA, Philippines — Rene Mark Cuarto yielded the International Boxing Federation (IBF) world minimumweight title to Mexican boxer Daniel Valladares after a split decision defeat on Saturday in Monterey, Mexico.
The 25-year-old Filipino fighter lost his world championship in his second defense as Valladares fought through a cut on his left eye that he sustained in the fourth round and earned the belt in front of his home crowd.
Cuarto failed to sustain his good start in the early rounds and was further doomed by a one-point deduction from the referee in the 10th round due to a loose tape on his gloves.
The 28-year-old Mexican got the win from two of three judges after earning his fourth straight victory to improve his fight card to a 26-3-1 win-loss-draw record with 15 knockouts.
It was Valladares’ first fight this year. He last saw action in August last year, beating Jose Javier Torres by unanimous decision in Parque La Ruina, Hermosillo, Mexico.
Cuarto dropped to 20-3-2 with 11 knockouts, failing to keep his world title, which he got from last year’s fight against Pedro Taduran by unanimous decision and successful title defense this February in their rematch.