PH Rising star Petalcorin falls to Japanese champ Shiro

Shiro unloads a wicked punch to Petalcorin’s body that dropped him (Kazuhiro Nogi/sports.inquirer.net)

By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Another Filipino failed to inch his way to a title shot.

Randy Petalcorin, who’s trying to go up the pedestal in the WBC flyweight division, suffered a fourth-round technical knockout against champion Ken Shiro, who exposed the Filipino’s weak mid-section.

Seeking for a firepower trade the whole match, the Filipino found himself in deep trouble after getting hit by a devastating series of shots in the mid-section during the third round.

Petalcorin fell thrice in the scary round three but was saved by the bell during his last fall of the round.

During the fourth, Petalcorin chose to fight with his consistent style and became more aggressive that cost him his chances to recover from the match.

Exchanging furiously with Shiro the last 1:30 of the fourth, Petalcorin received a powerful right to the body that sent him to the canvas for good.