| Filipino
Boxers Barotillo
retains IBF title
By JAIME K
PIMENTEL
Sydney, Australia --- ARNEL Barotillo retained his IBF
Pacific super-bantamweight title with a TKO over Philippine champion Anderson Alagenio at
Manly Leagues Club on Friday, December 15.
It was a wild brawl the packed auditorium did not expect
from the two Filipinos, although Barotillo was fighting as an Australian citizen for the
first time.
Alagenio's corner jumped into the ring to stop the mayhem
in the fourth round, after the challenger had dropped for the third time.
Barotillo had rushed in for a knockout from the opening
bell, belting the visitor from corner to corner.
But the challenger had too much class to fold easily.
Alagenio stood his ground and dished it back to Barotillo,
catching the champion off balance a number of times.
In the second round, the challenger opened a cut over the
champion's left eyebrow.
The referee stopped the bout briefly and allowed the ring
doctor to examine the wound.
When the fight resumed, Barotillo threw everything at
Alagenio, and dropped him with a barrage in the third round.
Alagenio was clearly wilting at the start of the fourth
round, but refused to let Barotillo have it all his way.
He took the champion's bombs and came back with his own, if
weakened, counterattacks.
In a neutral corner before the end of the round, Barotillo
caught Alagenio with left-right to the head and the challenger started to go down.
Barotillo followed with a barrage as Alagenio slumped on
the bottom rope.
The challenger's second Jeremy Bohol jumped in and waved
the towel to signal the end of proceedings before the referee could start a count.
Barotillo's trainer Mark Pitts announced after the match
that the champion would fight a world elimination bout in South Africa next March.
If Barotillo wins, he will fight for the world
junior-featherweight titled held by South Africa's Benedict Ledwaba.
Pitts said this would be Barotillo's second crack at a
world title.
"He's in much better shape now, and much
stronger," Pitts said.
"Arnel is also much more determine to win that world
title."
4 January 2001
 Jaime K. Pimentel is
a Sydney-based journalist and sub-editor with Fairfax Ltd. He has a bachelor's degree in
Journalism from Ateneo and a master's degree in Advertising and Newspaper Management from
Northwestern University (Chicago). He was previously a lecturer in Journalism at San Beda
and UST. Jimmy is also a scriptwriter and producer of Dramatic Philippines.
He loves and practices the sports he writes about. He was a boxing gold medallist during
his Ateneo days, an official of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines as a
referee and judge, and an Ateneo instructor in P.E. (boxing and swimming). In Australia,
he was also an amateur boxing referee. emanila team |
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