by Nick Giongco
Renerio Arizala, who suffered a sixth-round knockout at the hands of heavy-hitting Japanese Tsuyoshi Tameda in Yokohama on Sunday, was cleared to fight by the Games and Amusements Board, boxing division head June Bautista said on Tuesday.
Bautista said that Arizala passed a medical test and that the decision to allow him to fight overseas stemmed from it just being a six-rounder.
“It’s an opportunity for the boxers (to earn),” said Bautista, stressing that the GAB general ruling that requires boxers to have a modest win-loss mark in his last five doesn’t apply to Arizala.
Bautista said that a fighter who wishes to fight overseas should have a decent record in his last fight outings.
“This applies to 10-rounders,” said Bautista, noting that a Filipino boxer being contracted to fight a 10-rounder abroad must have at least a win in his last three fights.
“The rule is that he should have won two of his last five bouts,” said Bautista.
Arizala entered the fight with a 13-8-3 win-loss-draw card with five KOs but he has been on a losing streak stretching back to 2015, having lost seven of his last 10 bouts.