YOUNG Cebuano prospect AJ Paciones passed his biggest test to date, walking away with a unanimous decision victory over Richard Laspoña last Sunday, May 24, 2026, at The Flash Grand Ballroom of the Elorde Sports Complex in Parañaque City.
It was a tactical battle between two talented young fighters. The 21-year-old Paciones fought from the outside and used his long reach and sharp jabs as his main arsenal.
Laspoña, on the other hand, was the more aggressive fighter and threw his combinations from the inside.
Both fighters had their moments in a very close contest.
Fiery exchange
In the final round, Paciones and the 23-year-old Laspoña engaged in a fiery exchange, much to the delight of the fans.
After 10 rounds of action, judges Edward Ligas and Antonio Comia turned in identical scores of 97-93, while judge Aquil Tamano had it a little bit closer at 96-94, all in favor of Paciones.
Paciones successfully defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Oriental flyweight crown and inched closer to a world title shot. He is currently ranked No. 5 by the WBO, No. 11 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 13 by the International Boxing Federation.
Paciones remained undefeated at 13-0 with seven knockouts, while Laspoña suffered his first career loss and fell to 11-1 with
seven knockouts.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old up-and-comer Zyvyr Medecilo (9-0, 5 KOs) won the WBC International minimumweight belt with a ninth-round stoppage of Japanese Tatsuro Nakashima (12-6-2, 7 KOs). / EKA
