Michael Dasmariñas (right) and trainer Ting Ariosa (left) run into boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. in the Cayman Islands just before the Filipino southpaw crushed Eduardo Esquivel in the first round of their featherweight duel.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF TING ARIOSA
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One-time world title challenger Michael “Hot ‘N Spicy” Dasmariñas hardly worked out a sweat in disposing of Eduardo “El Mecanico” Esquivel of Belize in their featherweight clash Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in the Cayman Islands.
Dasmariñas produced two knockdowns as he saw his win-loss-draw record improve to 36-3-2 with 25 knockouts.
A barrage sent Esquivel down the first second time and while he was able to get up, the referee wisely called a halt to the contest.
Another flurry — capped by a left to the jaw — had sent Esquivel down for the first time moments earlier.
Now being trained by longtime Los Angeles resident Ting Ariosa, Dasmariñas is looking at securing bigger bouts in 2025.
Dasmariñas has now won six of his last seven fight since bowing to Naoya Inoue for the world bantamweight title on a third-round stoppage in 2021.
A native of Pili, Camarines Sur, the southpaw has been based in the United States the last several months so he can stay busy.
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