While power is boxing’s ultimate equalizer, it is not always enough to get the job done.
A highly-touted Filipino fighter learned this lesson late last week in Osaka, Japan.
Miel Fajardo, a heavy-handed light-flyweight, lost his Orient-Pacific Boxing Federation on points to a Thai master boxer named Thanongsak Simsri.
Fajardo came into the fight as if all he had to do was show up on fight night owing to his solid record of 11-1 record with 10 knockouts.
Before taking on Simsri, Fajardo needed less than a round to destroy John Paul Gabunilas in Cebu City, prompting fight observers to regard him as a world champion-in-waiting.
Once he hits you — according to a ringsider I know from way back — it is game over.
But it was not the case against Simsri, a smart-punching dude who won by scores of 116-111, 117-110 and 115-112.
Save for a knockdown he suffered in the 10th round — after Fajardo landed a crackling left to the jaw — it was all Simsri from start to finish.
What Simsri did to Fajardo was to expose him.
Against a quick mover like Simsri, Fajardo can be beaten.
It was obvious Fajardo is still not ripe for a world title shot because he lacked the skill set and the maturity to compete at a high level just yet.
But all is not lost.
At 24, Fajardo can still remedy the problem and become a serious threat someday.
“He still lacks maturity and he needs more fights so he can mature and make adjustments. He has the power and the talent and what he is lacking is maturity,” said two-time world title challenger Edito “Ala” Villamor, now an operator of one of Cebu’s biggest fight clubs.
“He needs more experience. But he still has a strong chance of becoming a world champion because of his power. I just hope that he was able to learn a lot from this loss,” said 1986 Asian Games bronze medalist Brix Flores, who also runs a promising boxing stable in the Queen City of the South.
One good thing about Fajardo is his innate strength.
In boxing, you can’t teach power.
Clearly, as seen when he caught Simsri on the jaw, Fajardo possesses awesome power.
If he matures and arms himself with a few more tricks, he will realize his dreams.
In the meantime, it’s back to the drawing board for Miel.
