Filipino prospect Megrino KOs foe; Rex Tso of HK remains undefeated

By Roie Purisima

Rey Singwangcha Megrino’s first dip in the featherweight proved to be a sweet success as he knocked out veteran Indon contender Jason Butar Butar in the 5^th found of their schedule six-round bout on Saturday night at the Convention Towers and Exhibition Center in Hong Kong.

The 30-year-old Highland Boxing protégé needed only a well-time right hook that hit the Butar smack on the forehead for the win that could give Megrino another tab at the Orient Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) title.

Megrino, who improved his record to 23 (5 KOs) wins, 20 losses and 4 draws, had won all but one of his last 9 bouts since absorbing a unanimous decision loss to Panyak Uthok in March 2015 in Thailand.

He failed to win the OPBF bantamweight title as he battled compatriot and Japan-based Jonathan Baat to a draw in April this year during the OPBF Annual Convention in Bacolod City.

“We expect Megrino to improve his ranking in the OPBF and hopefully get a crack again at the title,” said Megrino’s manager Brico Santig.

The Jaena, Negros Oriental native has been moving up in weight as he continues to grow big. He formerly held the Philippine flyweight title and the World Boxing Council (WBC) Asia flyweight title and he had to give up the latter due to lack of opponents.

“Wala nang gustong lumaban sa kanya sa and now he is at the featherweight division where he really feels comfortable, although he can still easily adjust to the bantamweight when he needs to,” added Santig.