Melvin Gumban turned back a resilient Fernando Ocon and won by unanimous decision in the main event of the ALA-Cobra “Tunay na Lakas” boxing card Saturday night at the Mandaue City Plaza Square.
The judges’ scores were all for Gumban at 97-92, 95-94 and 96-93. Gumban remained unbeaten after 14 fights (six knockouts) while Ocon dropped to his fifth career loss against ten wins, two by KOs.
Gumban tried to box from long range but encountered problems from Ocon’s swarming offense. In the second round, a right straight from Gumban sent the southpaw Ocon down.
Ocon beat the count of referee Teddy Alivio and continued to fire back. Heavy exchanges in the next three rounds elicited cheers from the crowd.
Gumban, who fights outs of the ALA Gym and hails from Escalante City, repeatedly scored with a counter right against a lunging Ocon in the sixth and seventh rounds.
Ocon, who fights out of the RWS Gym, was effective in daring in and out in the eighth but Gumban’s one-two combos were more accurate in the final two rounds.
In the supporting main event, Juren Labordo knocked out Rowell Garcia with hard body shots. Referee Tony Pesons reached the count of ten at the 2:30 mark of the second round.
Renante Suacasa won against Rey Morales in the third round after Morales’ cornerman signaled that his boxer would no longer continue due to an injured right arm.
Albert Villacampa beat Pedro Balaba by unanimous decision after eight bruising rounds. The scorecards read 78-72, 79-71 and 79-71.
Lito Dante also won by fifth round technical knockout against Rez Padrogane. Brian Lobitania beat Rocky Alvarez by TKO in the second round. In the opening bout of the evening, Ivor Lastrilla won by majority decision against Takaoki Noma of Japan.
The boxers from the ALA Gym also stepped inside the ring to request fans to support their upcoming bouts.
Jason Pagara, Genesis Servania and Jimrex Jaca invited fans to witness PINOY PRIDE XX this May 25 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
WBO minimumweight world champion Merlito Sabillo, together with fellow Bacolod native OPBF superflyweight titlist Arthur Villanueva, invited fight aficionados to PINOY PRIDE XXI in Bacolod City this June, which will feature Sabillo’s first defense of his world title.
Milan Melindo also asked for the fans’ support for his July 27 world title challenge against WBO flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada of Mexico in Macau.