First Blood: Fareñas stops Rios

POWER-PUNCHER Michael Fareñas put  Mexican Jesus Rios away by technical knockout in the second round  Friday night to keep his dream of becoming a world champion alive.

Fareñas, foiled twice in his bid for a  world title, sent Rios down for the second time with a left cross and although the Mexican beat the count, the referee halted the headliner of First Blood: Philippines versus Mexico   at the 2:40 mark at Solaire Resort & Casino.

“I really wanted to win by knockout to make the people and my promoter happy,” Fareñas said in Filipino after the inaugural offering of MAG (Manny Pacquiao, Anson Tiu-Co, Gerry Peñalosa) Pacman International Promotions.

The  win lifted  Farenas’ record to 35-4-4 with 29 knockouts and boosted his chances of forging  a  showdown with  either   WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia or former featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez.

Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr. raised his win run to 12 (11 KOs) with a technical decision over Mexican Alem Robles.

In the undercard, Richard Pumicpic sparked the Filipinos’ romp over their Mexican rivals with a unanimous decision over  Luis Lugo.