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SPOTLESS. Filipino Jhack Tepora (left) keeps his record unscathed at 22-0 thanks to a technical victory of Mexican Edivaldo Ortega. Photo by Alvin S. Go / Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – Jhack Tepora adds to the growing list of Filipino boxing champions after claiming the Interim Featherweight Belt of the World Boxing Association (WBA).
The pride of the city of Cebu dethroned former champion Edivaldo Ortega of Mexico with a 9th-round technical knockout at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday, July 15th.
"I did not expect to have really trained hard for this fight for 3 long months," Tepora said.
He cited the Pacquiao boxing icon as his inspiration. "It's more than a dream come true," Tepora said.
"When I saw Manny's story, coming from the streets, I thought that someday I could be like that and that's the first step towards that dream."
While waiting for its opening, Tepora climbed to the 9th round and delivered a vicious right uppercut to overthrow Ortega in the fight that served as the co-main event for the fight Manny Pacquiao-Lucas Matthysse.
Ortega got up immediately but Tepora continued to take on the former champion, forcing the referee to stop the fight with a minute to play in the round.
"El Capitan" remains undefeated with a record of 22-0 (17 KOs) while "Indio" slips to 26-2-1 (12 KOs). – with a report from Agence France-Presse
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