By Adrian Stewart Co

Toboso-born Merlito ‘Tiger’ Sabillo failed to clinch the Asian Boxing Federation flyweight belt after falling via technical knockout to Sho Kimura of Japan over the weekend at the Manila Arena. The loss was the Negrense fighter’s fourth consecutive defeat.
In the opening round, Sabillo found himself cornered several times with his opponent unloading numerous shots to the body and face. Kimura’s momentum continued into the following round and knocked down the Pinoy fighter with a left to the jaw.
The Negrense, who is considering retirement, saw his win-loss-draw record drop to 27-8-1 with 13 stoppage win; while his Japanese opponent improved to 19-3-2, with 12 knockout wins.
Meanwhile, in the other fight, Richard Claveras of Silay City defeated Richard Rosales via knockout.
After trading jabs throughout the first five rounds, the Negrense fighter finished off his opponent in the sixth round with a right to the jaw.
Claveras snapped a four-fight losing streak and improved to a 19-7-2 win-loss-draw record with 15 stoppage victories, while Rosales dropped to a  14-12-2 record with eight wins by knockout./ASC, WDJ