Gaballo suffers brutal knockout loss

Reymart Gaballo upstaged former unified world super-bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales when they fought on Friday night at the Midas Hotel and Casino.

But it was for the wrong reason.

While Tapales expectedly got the job done by crushing Nattapong Jankaew of Thailand in less than a round, it was Gaballo’s cameo appearance that left everyone in shock.

Already assured of a world bantamweight title shot, Gaballo took on Kenbun Torres in what was supposed to be a mere tuneup.

Instead, Torres used Gaballo as a stepping stone towards his own world title aspirations by knocking out the Filipino in the first round.

Torres, who is based in Japan, floored Gaballo thrice before the referee was given no other choice but to call a halt to the carnage immediately after the third knockdown with the hometown fighter, his handlers and just about anyone were left speechless.

Just before the first knockdown a sneaky left hook by Torres caught Gaballo, who wobbled from the impact of the clean shot to the jaw.

Seconds later, during a heated exchange, Torres landed a left that sent Gaballo down. A mini-flurry moments later produced another knockdown and when the third trip to the floor came, the third man on the ring didn’t even bother to count.