In Pacquiao undercard, RP boxers beat US foes

A cousin of a fast-rising boxing champion and another fighter carving out his name in the ring opened with consecutive wins for Filipino boxers featured in the undercard bouts of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto 12-round slugfest on Saturday (Sunday morning in Manila) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Filipino boxers Eden Sonsona and Richie Mepranum defeated rivals Eilon Kedem of New York and Colorado’s Ernie Marquez.
Sonsona, featured fourth in the "Firepower" showdown between Pacquiao and Puerto Rican Cotto, only needed 17 seconds in the second round to dispose of Kedem. Sonsona, the cousin of reining World Boxing Organizaton (WBO) junior bantamweight division champion Marvin Sonsona of General Santos City, improved to 14 wins (four by way of knockout) with three losses. According to Philboxing.com, Sonsona dropped Kedem in the first round with an uppercut to the right jaw then another to the nasal bone breaking his opponent’s nose as blood escaped from the latter's nostrils. Sonsona’s tactical aggression pushed Kedem to retreat at the corner as the Filipino unleashed a barrage of surgical shots to the body prompting the referee to stop the fight as the latter stood unresponsive. In the other match, Philboxing.com reported that the Sarangani native Mepranum, fighting second, won by split decision in a six-round junior lightweight match against Marquez. Mepranum’s win upped his fight record to 15 wins with three by KO to go with his two losses and one draw. The scorecards showed judges Al L Lefkowitz and Patricia Morse Jarman siding with Mepranum (57-56 and 58-55) while Ricardo Ocasio scored in favor of Marquez, 57-56. A right straight by Mepranum to Marquez’ mid-section in the opening seconds of the second round sent his opponent down on the canvass. The Colorado native, however, managed to stand up and threw several left-right combinations which momentarily hurt Mepranum. Mepranum went to work in the fifth round and pressed on with his attacks that opened a cut on Marquez’ right eye. The referee briefly stopped the fight to assess Marquez’ cut as blood did not stop from dripping on his swollen right cheek. Despite Marquez’ bloody right eye and swollen right cheek the fight continued where he gave Mepranum a tougher time all the way to the end of the match. In another undercard match, Cotto’s cousin, Abner Cotto won by unanimous decision over Lupe Guzman in their six-round lightweight match. Cotto remains undefeated after five matches with three KOs while his opponent dropped to three wins (two KOs) and four losses. – Jonathan Perez, GMANews.TV