Bautista sent Mendoza down twice in the opening round with short quick lefts. Mendoza ended the round with a bloodied nose but stormed back in the second; he had Bautista reeling on two occasions as he pounded the body and head.
In a hair-raising third round, they traded hard shots but Mendoza got the worse of the exchange as he suffered a gash on his left eyelid. The give and take action was halted in the 4th as a low blow sent Mendoza to the canvas. He was given enough time to recuperate and he continued his assault as he got up.
Blood continued to our from Mendoza’s cut in the fifth, worsened by a clash of heads. Bautista’s face was turning red as welts started to form. At the end of the round, it seemed the Mexican corner was ready to throw in the towel.
In a bizarre incident, as Referee Atty. Danrex Tapdasan checked in to see if Mendoza wanted to go on, he was rudely greeted by one of the Mexican cornermen, who tried to shove him with an elbow as they indicated that their fighter would continue. Referee Tapdasan ejected the cornerman out of the ring.
In the sixth, it was Mendoza’s turn to land low blows. He had trouble seeing due to the cut but Mendoza still tried to advance. But a left hook from Bautista sent him down and Referee Tapdasan reached the count of ten at the 1:20 mark.
Bautista, who finished the fight with welts on his cheeks, was leading on the three scorecards at 50-43 at the time of the stoppage. This was Mendoza’s first career loss. He had previously scored KO’s in all of his 17 wins.
Bautista, who hails from Candijay, Bohol, inches closer towards a world title shot. In a battle of hard hitters, ‘BoomBoom’ was the better catcher.
source: philboxing.com
