THE Philippines lost another of its world champions as Rene Mark Cuarto yielded his IBF mini-flyweight crown to Daniel Valladares of Mexico on Saturday (Manila time).
Rene Mark Cuarto vs Valladares recap
Cuarto lost by split decision to Valladares before a partisan crowd in Monterrey, Mexico.
The Filipino won in the scorecard of one of the judges, 114-113, but the other two saw it in favor of the Mexican, 116-111 and 115-112.
It was the second time in a month a Filipino fighter lost his world title after Nonito Donaire Jr. suffered a second-round stoppage against unbeaten Japanese Naoya Inoue in their unification match for the world bantamweight title.
Valladares was all bloodied at the end of the 12-round fight after suffering two different cuts on his left eye and on the head.
The Cuarto camp claimed referee Wes Milton failed to credit a knockdown in favor of Cuarto in round eight after connecting on a right cross, while likewise denouncing the point deduction on the Filipino in round 10 for the loose tape on his glove.
Valladares won his first world title in his second shot at the crown after settling for a technical draw in his first attempt against another Filipino in Pedro Taduran. The bout against Taduran two years ago was stopped in the fourth round following a huge cut suffered by the Mexican in the right eye.
The 28-year-old Mexican improved to 26-3-1 with 15 KOs.
Cuarto suffered his third loss in 25 fights, including 11 by KOs.
But MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons, who handles Cuarto, plans to seek a rematch given the way the fight ended.
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