RISING Filipino contender Vincent Astrolabio pulled off an impressive knockout win over Nikolai Potapov in their 12-round IBF bantamweight eliminator fight on Sunday in Las Vegas (Monday, Manila time).
The 25-year-old native of General Santos City sent his Russian opponent down to the canvas three times, the last courtesy of a left-right combination that put Potapov down on his knee in the sixth round.
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Potapov, 32, failed to beat the 10-count of referee Robert Hoyle, sending Astrolabio in a frenzy and climbing all four corners of the ropes to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd at the Chelsea Ballroom of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
The end came at the 1:26 mark of the sixth.
The Filipino, who dedicated the victory to boxing great Manny Pacquiao's birthday celebration on Saturday, improved his record to 18-3 with 13 KOs as he’s expected to become the No. 1 contender for the IBF title belt currently held by unified champion Naoya Inoue of Japan.
Astrolabio, handled by former Pacquiao trainer Nonoy Neri, was previously ranked No. 6 by the IBF after a unanimous decision win against two-time world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux early this year. The Filipino also scored a knockdown against the durable Cuban fighter in the eighth round.
He did even more damage against Potapov, the No. 3 IBF contender, after dropping him right in the opening round and then scoring another knockdown in the fifth.
Until the time of the stoppage, Astrolabio leads in all three judges’ scorecards, 50-43, 49-44, 48-45.
Potapov fell to a 23-3-1 record with 11 KOs.
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