Eagle Kyowa retained the World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight title via a unanimous 12-round decision over the baby-faced Mandaue Kid who stood in line over two years for a crack at the crown only to be repulsed in a courageous attempt to dethrone the Thai champion.

It was a come-from-behind victory for Kyowa, who scored a 12th round knockdown to seal the verdict.

Gale Van Hoy of Texas scored it 117-110, Chuck Hassett of California saw it 115-112 and Alejandro Rochin of Mexico had it 114-111, all for Kyowa.

Mayol struggled from Kyowa’s roundhouse hit to the jaw in the final round. He leaned to the ropes and fell, prompting the referee to give him a mandatory eight count.

In the undercard, Malcolm Tuñacao scored a devastating technical knockout win over Japanese challenger Yasuo Kijima at 2:04 of the 11th round to retain his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) bantamweight championship.

It was a classic performance by the stylish Tuñacao, who adjusted his strategy midway in the fight from fighting up-close to sticking from a distance and taking away Kijima’s strength.

As the fight progressed, Kijima felt the sting of the body blows and was set up for the kill in the late rounds.

Japanese referee Yuji Fukuchi stepped in the 11th round to stop the fight and prevent the Japanese fighter from absorbing more punishment.

Mayol tipped the scales at 104 1/2 pounds and Kyowa, 105, at the weigh-in the day before. Kyowa entered the bout a 2-1 favorite to turn back the Filipino challenger.

Mayol was in high spirits the morning of the fight. He woke up at 8:30 a.m. and ate spaghetti, fish and vegetables for breakfast. For lunch, he had ramen and more pasta to load up on carbohydrates. His wife Lira Mendoza planed in from Cebu last Thursday but they hardly saw each other before the fight.

Mayol’s Japanese manager Yasuo Matsuoka said Kyowa, whose real name is Den Janlaphan, had difficulty making the weight. At the weigh-in, Mayol’s pulse registered a healthy 46, while Kyowa’s was 77.

Janlaphan adopted his ring name to honor his sponsor, the Kyowa Corp., a large Japanese land development company. He met his wife, a Japanese kickboxer, in Thailand and they settled in Tokyo four years ago with their two boys.

Kyowa won the WBC crown on a unanimous decision over Jose Antonio Aguirre — who was recently beaten by Brian Viloria — in 2004, lost it in his second defense to Isaac Bustos via a technical knockout after injuring his right shoulder, and regained the crown last year on points from Katsunari Takayama.

Matsuoka, married to a Filipina Gina Olais for 17 years with two daughters, was convinced Mayol would win after watching the protagonists in an open sparring session for the public a week ago. He said he was 80 percent sure Mayol would knock out Kyowa.

Matsuoka hosted 22 Filipinos who arrived from Manila to watch the bout at the 1,600-seat Korakuen Hall. Among those at ringside were Games and Amusements (GAB) board chairman Eric Buhain and wife Rep. Eileen Ermita Buhain, Rex (Wakee) Salud, Chito Salud and wife Gretchen, Terry Carter, Joy Ouano, Team Asia’s Joey Fornier and Hazel Madrigal Cruz and Sonny Lagon.

Manny Pacquiao was booked to fly in last Friday but decided to stay in General Santos City at the last minute.

Canadian boxing agent Michael Koncz, who is Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista’s U.S. business manager, planed in from Los Angeles to watch the fight.

St. Benilde belles
reign in Nestea volley

BORACAY — Faith Ann de Guzman and Janilyn Sarabia made sure that their final stint in the Nestea Beach Volley Championship would be a very memorable one.

“That’s all we wanted from the start,” said De Guzman moments after St. Benilde defeated University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR), 21-12, 12-21, 15-13, in the women’s final at the jampacked Hey! Jude sandcourt here.

De Guzman and Sarabia, both tall, tan, young and lovely, would have finished their studies by the time this annual Nestea event is held once again next summer.

“At least we made our last year in this Nestea tournament very memorable. We didn’t really expect to win the title because there are stronger teams from the Visayas and Mindanao,” said De Guzman.

“Of course, we’re very happy,” said De Guzman after she and Sarabia handed St. Benilde its second women’s beach volley crown this year following their victory in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) last February.

An hour after the St. Benilde victory, Adamson followed suit with a shorter, easier win over Mindanao State University (MSU), 21-17, 21-18, for the men’s crown.

It was the first time Adamson won the men’s crown and also the first for St. Benilde to emerge women’s champion. Adamson won the women’s title in 2002, while St. Benilde was crowned men’s champion last year. Again, it was the first time since 2000 that both champions represent Luzon.

The victory was worth P100,000 each for the champions, and P50,000 worth of sports equipment for their school.

“Of course, we’re very happy,” said De Guzman after she and Sarabia handed St. Benilde its second women’s beach volley crown this year following their victory in the NCAA last February.

After wrapping up the victory, De Guzman and Sarabia embraced each other for quite some time before approaching the net to shake the hands of USJR’s Mechele Matuguina and Julett Mae Marikit, who gave their rivals some scare early in the third and final set.

Adamson, represented by Mike Alinsunurin and Sherwin Meneses, were never really in trouble against the jump-serving Gabshar Tahiluddin and Yusop Abdulkarim of MSU.

Meneses drilled in a powerful spike to seal the match for Adamson. Then they started to celebrate with Alinsunurin throwing sand into the air as they were joined and hugged by their coach Domingo Custodio and some Adamson supporters from among the crowd.

“Hard work. Hard work,” said Alinsunurin who has this habit of kissing the ball as he prepares to serve. He said it’s just for good luck.

Alinsunurin said the victory was so sweet since it was also MSU which ousted them in last year’s crossover semis. “It was payback time,” he said.

In the women’s semis, St. Benilde downed University of Southern Philippines, 21-11, 18-21, 15-8, while USJR clobbered University of San Agustin, 21-18, 21-13.

In the men’s side, Adamson ended Capitol University’s fairy tale campaign, 21-15, 21-13, while MSU defeated 2005 champion St. Benilde, 24-22, 21-17.

The tournament was sponsored by Le Soleil de Boracay, Speedo, MTV, Power Shot, Hey Jude, Mikasa, Cebu Pacific, Seventeen, D-Mall, Villa de Oro, Club Ten, Schering-Plough Coppertone, Crystal Sand Resort, ClicktheCity.com, Boracay Gold Crowne Club, Bantay Kalikasan ABS-CBN Foundation, Nautilus by PJ Aranador and La Salle Greenhills.

Filipino sikaran master gets USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame award

LOS ANGELES — Filipino Grandmaster/Hari Osias Banaag added another feather to his cap after he was awarded by the prestigious USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame as the “Philippine Grandmaster of Sikaran” held recently at the Holiday Inn Hotel here in California.

A 10th degree red-belt, Banaag rose to prominence in martial arts when he established in 2003 in Delano, California, the Sikaran-Arnis Academy, which ultimately expanded the Sikaran globally.

It was the third time for Banaag, president/founder of Global Sikaran Federation and owner/proprietor of the Sikaran-Arnis Gym in the country, to be cited by the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

“Our goal is to promote sikaran and for the Filipino youth to patronize it kasi ito sariling atin, likha ng Pinoy,” said the 47-year-old Banaag, who was first named by the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame as the “Sole King of Sikaran” in 2004.

In coordination with Mayor Joseph Buenaventura of Morong, will hold the 2007 Sikaran World Gold Cup Open Martial Arts Festival at the University of Rizal System in Morong, Rizal.

In 1997, Banaag attended the Martial Arts World Congress as the country’s representative in Sikaran in Washington, D.C. where 406 delegates from 106 countries attended.

Using the opportunity to promote Sikaran, he went to Vallejo, California after the convention and started teaching the sport. A month later, he moved to Central California in Bakersfield where he founded the Sikaran-Arnis Academy.

Since then, students at the Sikaran-Arnis have won in various tournaments, including the US World Championship in Riviera Hotel Casino and the Convention Center in Las Vegas Nevada.

In the last two editions of the World Gold Cup Open Taekwondo Championship at the University California in Davis, Banaag’s Sikaran students went home with the most number of gold medals.

In addition to that, the academy was named by the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame as the best “Martial Arts School” from 2003 to 2005.

Like him, his three sons — Geoffre, Jefferson and Emmanuel — were also inducted to the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2004. That same year, U.S. President George W. Bush honored him with the “Presidential Lifestyle Award”.

Aside from Banaag, the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame also cited the contributions of seven other Filipinos.

Master Crisanto Cuevas was awarded “International Instructor of the Year,” Rene Boy Ramos “Black-belt of the Year,” Zachary Villaruz “Martial Arts Dedication,” Patrick Vellido “Best Fighter of the Year,” seven-year-old Dominic Jordan Salon “Martial Artist of the Year,” five-year-old Justin Villegas “Junior Martial Artist of the Year” and Ashlene Robles “Assistant Instructor of the Year.”

A native Filipino sport, Sikaran, the art of foot fighting, developed into a martial art during the Spanish regime. Sikaran comes from the root word “Sikad” which means kick. It utilizes the legs 90 percent, while the remaining 10 percent requires hand activity for grabbing, throwing, parrying and blocking.

‘Larios a dangerous fighter

MANILA — American impresario Frank Belmont has warned Manny Pacquiao that his coming fight with Oscar Larios of Mexico on July 2 is certainly not just a walk in the park and that the hometown crowd could be a danger signal on the bid of the Filipino ring idol to become the greatest Filipino boxer in history.

“Larios is a good boxer, not a great puncher, durable, quick, experienced and not easily intimidated,” Belmont described the Mexican fighter from Guadalajara.

As president of Belmont Productions, Belmont knows whereof he speaks. He was an eyewitness in the separate fights of Larios and Pacquiao in the Boxeo de Oro’s monthly TV series for Latin American countries, exclusively for the Golden Boy Promotions.

Incidentally, Larios is a mainstay of the Golden Boy Promotions under the banner of Oscar De La Hoya.

“Larios is not a super-impressive fighter, but he is very professional, always walking with his hands encased in enormous white training gloves searching for sparmates in the club,” said Belmont. “The Mexican has all the tools and, if I am a manager, I’d like to own him.”

Given a chance to work with promoter ABS-CBN for the fight, Belmont said the giant network is on the right step to become a world-caliber provider for TV shows for the job.

“If our offer is accepted, the Pacquiao-Larios fight would have a worldwide audience either on the U.S.-based DirecTV or IN-Demand affiliates in 50 countries,” said Belmont. “Our programs are 90 percent sports-related and we are in contract with either cable providers to televise all international feeds for HBO Boxing.”