Hail Cesar! Cuenca Schools Yang For IBF Crown

By Jake Donovan

Thirteen years into his pro career, 34-year old Cesar Cuenca (48-0, 2 KO) of Barrio Santa Brigida, Buenos Aires, Argentina, finally got a crack at a major title and made the most of it on Saturday at the Venetian Resort Cotai Arena in Macau, China. 

Scoring and surviving a knockdown in the fight, Cuenca boxed beautifully to win a clear unanimous decision over 30-year old Ik Yang (19-1, 14 KO) of Da Lian, China, to capture the vacant IBF belt at 140 lbs. The belt became available when Lamont Peterson was stripped after a non-title loss at Welterweight to Danny Garcia earlier this year.

Cuenca came into the bout just below the division limit of 140 lbs at 139 ½, Yang at 139 ¾. The referee was Danrex Tapdasan.

Cuenca, hardly known for power, scored a knockdown in the first round and dominated the first four frames with excellent combination punching and smart movement. In the fifth, Yang rattled Cuenca and scored a knockdown to begin to make himself a factor in the fight. The action stayed close in round six, Yang pressing effectively in spots only for Cuenca to close strong with a clinical display of precise punching.

Cuenca controlled most of the seventh and eight but was shaken in the latter, recovering quickly. Both men were warned for head clashes at the start of the ninth but it wasn’t much of a factor as Cuenca continued his display of craft. Yang made it relatively closer in the ninth but wasn’t doing nearly enough to break a near shutout.

Yang tripped to the floor in the eleventh, quickly and correctly ruled not a knockdown and Cuenca was warned in the round for holding. Entering the final round with a swollen left eye, Yang had three minutes to find a miracle. He went after it and Cuenca used clinches and pushes to stifle Yang’s effort. Frustrated, Yang three Cuenca to the floor and lost a point for the intentional foul. He jumped right back on top of a grabbing Cuenca, swinging for the fences with any room allowed. With a minute to go, Cuenca opened up and went back on the offensive, tagging Yang repeatedly to seal the closing round and the fight.

The official scores came in at 117-110, an absurdly too close 115-110, and a still too close 116-109.

The undercard featured several notable fighters, highlighted by the ongoing return of former World Champion Nonito Donaire to the Jr. Featherweight ranks. With a proposed fight against WBA sub-champion Scott Quigg proposed for later this year, the 32-year old Donaire (35-3, 23 KO), 123, of San Leandro, California, made expected early work of 28-year old Anthony Settoul (20-4, 8 KO), 123, of France. Donaire scored two knockdowns in the first and second before Settoul’s corner stopped the fight. Donaire is currently rated fifth by the WBA at 122 lbs. Quigg is scheduled to fight later today against former IBF titlist Kiko Martinez.

In Welterweight action, 22-year old 2012 Olympian and big time Central California ticket seller Jose Ramirez (15-0, 11 KO), 141, of Avenal, California, laid a steady beating on 31-year old Ryusei Yoshida (26-8, 13 KO), 141, of Kumamoto, Japan. Yoshida failed to answer the bell for round four as Ramirez took a step closer to moving from prospect to contender.

Perhaps the best prospect in China is 28-year old Jr. Bantamweight Rex Tso and he continued his winning ways. Tso (17-0, 10 KO), 116, of Hong Kong, forced a fourth-round referee’s stoppage against 34-year old Khunkhiri Wor Wisaruth (21-12-1, 14 KO), 119, of Bangkok, Thailand. The official time of the stoppage was 2:55. Tso entered the fight rated #4 by the WBO, #6 by the IBF, and #7 by the WBA at 115 lbs.

30-year old Lightweight Denis Shafikov (36-1-1, 20 KO), 136, of Miass, Russia, kept himself in line for a shot at the vacant IBF belt with a third round stoppage of 28-year old Roy Mukhlis (27-5-3, 21 KO), 133, of Surabaya, Indonesia. Shafikov is rated #1 by the IBF at 135 lbs. and was supposed to fight then-titlist Mickey Bey on this card. When Bey refused the fight he was stripped of the belt.

The card was webcast in the US on TopRank.tv with some of it scheduled for tape delay this evening on UniMas, promoted by Top Rank.