By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense boxer Joepher Montano captured the WBO Oriental welterweight championship belt following a second-round stoppage win over Thai fighter Wirojanasunobol Atchariya at the World Siam Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

This was the second time that the Negros Occidental’s Bago City-native fighter has captured the WBO 147-pound belt after previously winning it when he defeated Indian Kulbir Dhaka in 2022.

Montano and Atchariya were engaged in a heated battle from the opening bell as both fighters were throwing and landing power shots, with the Negrense boxer dominating the power hits.

Atchariya saw some success early in the second round as he landed a rough combination on Montano’s head, but the Negrense fighter answered with a cracking long right hand on the chin of his opponent.

The solid hit sent Atchariya to the floor as the Thai fighter failed to beat the referee’s count, earning Montano his easy eighth consecutive victory since a split decision loss to John Ruba in 2019.

The victory also served as a revenge for Montano, who suffered a one-sided unanimous decision defeat to Atchariya during their non-title encounter in 2018 in Bang Phun, Thailand.

The 5-foot-8 Montano thus improved his record to an 18-5-2 win-loss-draw ring record, while also registering his 16th stoppage win.

Atchariya saw his record dropped to 14-3-0, including six KO wins.

Meanwhile, Negrense Arthur Villanueva was not fortunate in his boxing return after suffering a fourth round stoppage loss to American Elijah Pierce at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

Despite the Bago City-native Villanueva scoring a knockdown in the second round, he was not able to sustain his energy in the next two rounds en route to being knocked down by Pierce.

Villanueva’s record slipped to a 35-5-1 win-loss-draw, including 20 victories by way of stoppages, while Pierce improved to 19-2-0, also notching his 16th win by knockdown./ASC, WDJ