Cano leaves the ring on top again

Tinian pride Bert Cano threw everything he had at Baby Wonder Boy Jr. in Saturday’s main event of the Battle of the Grounds at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, and for landing more blows than his opponent, was able to get the judges’ nod and take home another victory.

Cano, a last minute addition to the main event after Direck Johnson was advised by doctors not to fight due to injuries, came in prepared, fired his guns, and protected himself well enough to take the victory after both fighters remained standing through 10 rounds.

Cano came out as the aggressor in the opening round, but was not able to shake Wonder Boy Jr., who remained calm, protected himself, and was able to sneak a few light punches.

The next two rounds were pretty much even as both moved well around the ring.

Cano managed to grab the upper hand in the fourth round, landing a couple of hard hooks to the head and body of Wonder Boy, but the favor was quickly returned as Wonder Boy regrouped, took advantage of what little opening Cano gave, and landing several punches. Both landed a fair share of jabs and hooks; however, none were punishing enough to rattle either of the boxers.

Cano had the bout in his favor as his punch-landing percentage was better compared to Wonder Boy.

Cano finally showcased his quickness as he threw a seriesof combinations at Wonder Boy in the ninth round, with his second punch—a left hook—catching the right cheek bone of Wonder Boy’s face.

Wonder Boy recovered and worked Cano to the corner, but was not able to really penetrate and hurt his opponent, who kept his gloves up in hopes of avoiding hard hits. Wonder Boy landed a series of combinations, but Cano came charging back with left and rights of his own that resulted in Wonder Boy backing off to the middle of the ring.

Fighting in the final round, both came out aggressive, trying to put the final decision in their hands.

Neither was able to knock the other down, and the final bell rang with both standing on their feet. Wonder Boy was hit by a hard left hook just before time expired and lost his balance a bit, but held his ground.

“It was a very hard fight because he is a very strong boxer,’ Cano said during an interview. “I tried to knock him down, but he is a very strong boxer…even though he was already bleeding from his mouth.”

Cano added that he idolized Wonder Boy while at the young age of 15 years and was pleased that he was able to come out with the victory.

“Since I was 15 years old, he was already a professional. I used to watch him fight and he is my idol,” he said.

Cano added that if it were not for his commitment to train in preparation for the fight, he would have probably had a different outcome.

“I was very tired and I am very lucky that I was conditioned well enough because of I trained hard for three months to prepare for this fight. I am in better shape that the last time I fought,” he said. “I wanted to finish it in the third or fourth round, and then I began to feel tired in the sixth round.”

Nonetheless, Cano said he was positive he would be declared winner while waiting for officials to tabulate the score.

“I knew I was going to win, because I was hitting hard and was landing my punches. I hit him more and I protected myself very good.”

Next for Cano are two fights this October—one on Tinian and another in Guam.

“Before I was out of shape because of not enough training, but now, I feel good. My last fight, I did not concentrate on my training, but now I run twice a day and work hard. So I am going to still train hard for the two fights.”

He also expressed his appreciation to his family and friends for all their support during his career.

Cano began boxing in 1992 and moved to the professional scene in 1994, along with friend Manny Pacqiuao.

Battle of the Grounds was presented by Triple K International Entertainment, and all proceeds from the event will be donated to the Kristo Rai Church and Karidat.