JOE Noynay didn’t get the picture-perfect finish in his hometown debut, but he did just enough to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific Youth super featherweight title despite losing steam late in the fight.
The 22-year-old Noynay survived a late surge by tough and determined Mexican challenger Hector Garcia and walked away with a majority decision in an action-packed 10-round fight in front of a sold out crowd at the Celestino Martinez Sr. Sports and Cultural Complex in Bogo City.
Judges Edgar Olalo and Edward Ligas had identical scores of 96-94 for Noynay, while judge Salven Lagumbay saw it even at 95-95.
“I’m very happy to have finally fought here. Although I lost steam, I still won the fight,” Noynay said after the grueling fight. “It wasn’t hard but I really fell short on stamina because of the heat. I knew that I had a huge chance of winning that’s why a started out string in the early rounds. I knew that he was tough but I still kept my fighting spirit to finish the fight.”
Noynay boxed beautifully in the early rounds. The 23-year-old Garcia, however, kept on moving forward and put a ton of pressure on Noynay, who constantly found himself pinned near the ropes.
Noynay started to lose steam in the later rounds. But he fought intelligently by clinching and moving away from a charging Garcia.
Noynay improved to 14-2-1 with four knockouts, while Garcia dropped to 12-7-2 with seven knockouts.
Former Bogo City mayor and event organizer Junie Martinez was pleased with the event’s turnout and hopes to put on another show in Bogo City soon.
“I’m very happy of the outcome of the event. I would like to thank everyone who came and watched our first boxing event here. I want to promote a boxing event that features Elorde Boxing Gym vs. ALA Boxing Gym,” he said.
Martinez hopes to put on another show, possibly in June.
Meanwhile, Cris Alfante (14-6-1, 6 KOs) stopped last minute replacement Ryan Tampus (11-23, 8 KOs) in the main suppporting bout of “For Honor and Pride.”
In the undercard, Al Toyogon (7-2-1, 4 KOs) knocked out Jason Tinampay (8-9-1, 2 KOs) with a body shot in the opening round; Cris Paulino (17-3, 7 KOs) scored a second-round stoppage of former Pan Asian Boxing Association champion Marvin Tampus (27-26-3, 18 Kos); and Ricardo Sueno (7-2-3, 3 KOs) defeated Jeco Suico (1-3, 1 KO). EKA