FORMER pro boxers are some of the most feared lot in mixed martial arts today.
Boxers are better trained in the art of using both fists inside the ring or the cage.
It has been proven many times.
Recent proof was the annihilation by former world champion Holly Holm of judo specialist Ronda Rousy to become the newest toast of the UFC.
In the local scene, former boxers like Caloy Baduria, Jun Paderna and the late Ale Cali, a former Pacific Xtreme Combat champion, dominate their opponents inside the MMA cage, using their vast experience in boxing.
Baduria, a boxing trainer at Elorde, still fights in the cage from time to time and among his victims was Nic Kohla, a bigger and heavier fighter with a wrestling pedigree. Kohla’s mistake was go to-to-toe with Baduria, who feasted on Kohla with a barrage of boxer’s punches. The result was an expected TKO for Baduria.
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In boxing lingo, there is a so called “pasok na suntok” (Boxer’s Punch). Some of the best boxers have utilized this technique they have mastered in training for years, in the growing sport of MMA.
“Kaya ang mga kalaban namin, ‘pag labas ang suntok, patay na. Bago makadapo ang suntok nila sa amin, naunahan na namin sila,” shared Paderna, who spent his childhood and early years of pugilism with Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao in the same neighborhood in General Santos City.
Paderna, an aging fighter by the sport’s standard, is still feared by up-and-coming MMA fighters.
Rex de Lara, who has three wins and a draw as a pro boxer, best typified that “pasok na suntok” when he beat Stephen Loman to the draw in their battle at the PXC 51 at the Solaire Resort and Casino on Saturday night.
It was too late for Loman to realize that it was such a huge mistake going nip-and-tuck with De Lara. The boxer’s short, right punch found Loman’s jaw squarely as the latter was knocked out cold, unconscious for a few minutes and had to be attended by the medical team inside the cage.
It was the only knockout in the fight card of the night. Credit goes to the much dreaded Boxer’s Punch.