Saipan fighters successful in Guam

Saipan fighters Frank “The Crank” Camacho and “Suicide” Cliff Masga of Trench Tech-Purebred Saipan showed what they’re made of Saturday night, winning their no-holds barred fights in Spike 22 Scrap Night on Guam.

According to Trench Tech gym owner Cuki Alvarez, both fighters were challenged but were able to come through.

Masga, who weighed in at 215 lbs, was first to step into the fighting pit as he took on Dave “The Hammer” Fernandez . Masga was outweighed by 30 lbs as Fernandez entered the fight weighing 245 lbs.

Despite the weight difference, Masga powered his way to victory, winning the bout three minutes into the third round.

Masga was the aggressor at the start of the fight, coming out strong with low leg kicks and body shots. Fernandez tried to defend and grabbed a hold of Masga’s body. However, the Saipan fighter was able to take his opponent down, put him on a side mount, and began to rain in punches.

The move was reversed and Masga was caught on a full mount, with Fernandez landing a flurry of elbows and punches before the round came to an end.

The second round kicked off with Masga again the aggressor. He connected on a leg kick and went for a double-leg takedown, but Fernandez was able to respond and got on a north-south position before landing knees and punches on Masga.

Masga kept his composure and focus, though, and got out of the position.

“He went for the shoot and the guy responded with the same thing, but the referee didn’t stop the fight because Cliff was still active and defending himself and was well aware of everything despite the brutal punishment,” Alvarez said.

Masga was trailing in terms of points and Alvarez said he informed his fighter that he needed to win the third round in order to come out victorious.

That was exactly what Masga did as he threw strong punches at the start of the round, bomb-rushed his opponent to the fence, and got control of Fernandez’s head before hooking his arm and bringing his opponent to the ground. Masga then top-mounted Fernandez and let out a flurry of punches. It was then that the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

With the win, Masga improved to 3-0 in NHB fights.

“It was a great win for Cliff,” Alvarez said. “His opponent is a tough guy from a tough gym and is one of the top fighters at that gym, but Cliff had the endurance. He had a lot of heart and persevered.”

Camacho, who weighed in at 178 lbs, took the ring immediately after Masga’s bout and went up against 195-lbs Shaun “The Ace” Mantanona.

“Frank dominated from the start,” Alvarez said, citing that after Mantanona threw a combination at the start, Camacho grabbed his opponent and began landing knees to his head. “He then took him to the ground, top-mounted him, and let out a flurry of punches.”

Alvarez said Mantanona was able to turn things around and landed hits to Camacho’s face before the round ended.

In the second round, both fighters exchanged strong kicks before the fight went to the ground.

“Frank caught his back and went for a choke, but the guy defended the choke out,” Alvarez said. “Frank then went for an arm bar and had him locked as deep as an arm bar could go, but [Mantanona] powered out of it.”

Alvarez recalled that the third round was similar to the first, with Frank coming out the aggressor.

“He held his opponent to the fence, threw leg kicks, knees to the head, and punches. It was three minutes of punishment and that’s when the referee stopped the fight,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez stressed, though, that it was a big test for Camacho, as his opponent never gave up despite the tough beating.

“He is one really tough guy,” Alvarez said of Mantanona, who dropped to 4-1.

He added that with the wins against experienced fighters, Masga and Camacho, who is also now 3-0, raised their skills to the next level.

“They took their fighting to a whole new level,” he said. “They fought guys that are training just like us, and the conditioning training with Joe Ocampo and Tetsuji Kato really paid off.”

Both opponents are fighting out of Spike 22 Yona Academy.

Alvarez said the fighters showed strong signs of sportsmanship, exchanging hugs and even gifts—T-shirts—after the fights.

Aside from Camacho, Masga, and Alavrez, who served as cornerman for the two fighters, others who went to Guam and showed their support were Ocampo, Jason Tarkong, Abong Camacho, Steve Kim, and Camacho’s father.