Filipino Kickboxers Claim Spotlight In Local Promotion's First Big Event

Philippines-based promotion TNT Fight held its first-ever kickboxing event entitled "TNT Kickboxing 1" on Saturday, July 24, and some of the best kickboxers from the Southeast Asian nation were eager to strut their stuff.

The main event featured bantamweights Aresnio Balisacan and Ferdinand Aquino in an exciting war, which proved why they were deserving of top-billing treatment.

Though they were evenly matched, Balisacan and "The Psychopath" had their shining moments each with the former landing big shots while controlling the center of the ring whereas the latter used his agility to evade some of Balisacan's bigger shots.

An accidental teep kick to the groin of Aquino would temporarily halt the contest and though he was able to get up thereafter, Balisacan quickly took advantage of the still-recovering Aquino and pressed the issue to close out round two—forcing the referee to initiate a standing count.

Before the start of Round Three, Aquino was unable to answer the bell and allowed Balisacan to record a TKO victory.

In the co-main event, fans inside the FilOil EcoOil Centre witnessed a duel for the ages as Manuel De Los Reyes and Kervin Lampacan stepped in between the ropes.

Both featherweights were off to a hot start in round one as they willingly traded leather in an effort to demoralize the other, with De Los Reyes landing a big hook to Lampacan's head.

Round two saw Lampacan return the damage De Los Reyes dealt to him in the first three minutes, landing combo after combo to regain some of the momentum—albeit at the cost of him being on the receiving end of some damaging hits to the head.

The final round saw some of the most intense action of the night as no side would let up heading into the final bell, with Lampacan even unleashing a jumping head kick in the dying moments.

With a whole host of fans calling out for the winner, the judges deemed De Los Reyes' all-out pursuit of "El Conqueror" worthy of a unanimous decision win.

Just before TNT Kickboxing 1's headlining bouts, Rex De Lara and Red Romero treated fans to an exciting showcase of skill.

The pair of welterweights were cautious to throw shots initially, but it was the 20-year veteran in De Lara who struck first with huge combos in the first round—though Romero scored big with a flying knee.

However, De Lara seemingly injured his foot during an accidental collision with Romero but was raring to tough it out and decided to continue.

The second and third round was more of the saw De Lara try to pressure Romero and even kicked him multiple times with his bum foot, but the latter's unrelenting pressure was simply too much to overcome.

When it was all said and done, it was Romero who had his hands raised by way of unanimous decision.

Also on the undercard was Mark Sadang and Ranulfo John Villegas' welterweight contest, where the former walked away victorious after landing a meteoric punch to the latter's body, rendering him unable to continue—earning the victory with a knockout late in round one.

Additionally, Daryl Mayormita was cruising his way toward an uber-dominant victory against Adrian Bulado when an errant kick thrown by Bulado forced him to the ground as he writhed in pain due to an ankle injury—allowing Mayormita to win by TKO in the second round.

Serving as the main card's opener, flyweights Gabriel Bajada and Jeffrey Bayron treated fans to a high-octane bout where the former's aggression upended the latter's efforts to win by unanimous decision.

In the final matchup of the three-fight show-opener, Lucian Choy came away with the unanimous decision victory over Rafael Labordo as the fans roared in support of his dominance.

Amateur fighters also took the spotlight with Ronald Rey Abano and Red Cabodil taking home impressive victories against Noel Karlo Rosario and Ramil Rodriguez respectively, with the latter being hit with a massive body shot that ended the fight in round one.