Rene Mark Cuarto loses world title defense in Mexico

Filipino prizefighter Rene Mark Cuarto fell short in his second defense of the IBF world minimumweight title following a split decision loss against Daniel Valladares this Saturday in Monterey, Mexico.

Valladares was aggressive in the early going, throwing punches to the head and body that found their mark. Cuarto circled the ring, throwing jabs here and there but was often caught with a right hand on top.

Cuarto landed clean shots in round two that earned him the respect of his Mexican challenger. A hard exchange of leather stunned Valladares in round three thanks to a big overhand right and a left hook from Cuarto.

Cuarto had Valladares bleeding on the side of his left eye in round 4. The Filipino stepped up the tempo, seemingly looking to land more big shots and win the fight via knockout.

Valladares shifted his approach from round 5 onward sticking to his jab and refused to engage the attacking Cuarto. A series of punches sent Valladares to the canvas in round 8 but the referee ruled it a slip. In Round 10, the referee deducted a point from Cuarto for loose tape on one of his gloves.

Not wanting to brawl again, Valladares boxed his way up until the final bell. Two of three judges saw the fight for Valladares after twelve rounds, improving his record to 26-3-1 with 15 knockouts while Cuarto fell to 20-3-2 with 11 knockouts.

—JMB, GMA News