EDUARD Folayang retained his ONE lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Ev Ting of Malaysia in ONE: Kings of Destiny on Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Team Lakay raised his record to 18-5 (win-loss) with an impressive display before home fans who saw Folayang suffer a humbling defeat the last time he saw action in Manila.
“It means a lot,” Folayang said. “I know a lot of you guys are discouraged the last time I was here. I slept on the mat. But I need to rise up. I trained hard, prayed hard, and prepared a lot.”
Folayang didn’t give Ting a chance to go on the offensive, controlling the fight with calculated leg kicks and knees that kept the Malaysian-Kiwi fighter on the back foot.
He was presented the title belt by no less than Filipino boxing champion and ONE shareholder Manny Pacquiao.
Kevin Belingon and Honorio Banario also scored quick victories against separate opponents in the undercard to complete a big night for Filipino fighters.
Belingon left Toni Tauru of Finland bloodied with a flurry of punches before forcing him to tap out with 2:20 left in the first round.
Banario also scored a scintillating knockout victory over Jaroslav Jartin, flooring the Czech fighter with 1:31 left in the second with a big left to the jaw.
Indonesia’s Stefer Rahardian scored a unanimous decision victory over Filipino fighter Eugene Toquero while Danny Kingad defeated Muhammad Aiman of Malaysia via unanimous decision.
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