Rising Pinoy boxer Astrolabio knocks out Russian foe in bantamweight eliminator

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Rising Filipino boxer Vincent Astrolabio put up an impressive performance in Las Vegas after knocking out Nikolai Potapov of Russia in the sixth round of their International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight eliminator clash.

Leading from the start of the opening ball, the Filipino slugger closed the show in the 1:43 mark of the sixth round after hitting Potapov with a clean double hook to the midsection.

After receiving the two vicious body shots, the Russian boxer immediately kneeled to the canvass in pain and failed to stand up after the referee’s 10 made counts.

The huge victory helped Astrolabio’s record rise to 18 wins, 13 knockouts, and three defeats while climbing up in the IBF bantamweight rankings.

It was all Astrolabio from the get-go as the pride of General Santos City outworked Potapov and nearly scored an early knockdown 35 seconds past the first round but the referee ruled it as a slip and no score was given to the Filipino.

The first official knockdown was scored by Astrolabio in the 25^th-second mark after landing a slick left counter that brought down Potapov.

Astrolabio then gained a much-needed confidence boost heading into the next rounds and displayed a hitting clinic after bullying the Russian slugger in the next rounds.

The second knockdown by Astrolabio then came in the fifth round after the Filipino hard-hitter landed a right uppercut which landed straight to Potapov’s jaw.

Astrolabio continued his dominance in the next round and sealed the deal with a left-right combination to Potapov’s body.

This will be Astrolabio’s last fight of the year and will seek to climb up in the IBF rankings next year if he wraps up his business in the bantamweight eliminator phase.