CEBU CITY -- Lorenz Dumam-ag of Mandaluyong City snatched the vacant WBO Oriental flyweight belt with a controversial first-round knockout win over Ramel Macado Jr. in the main event of “Engkwentro sa Mandaue 13” on Wednesday night, May 1, at the Mandaue City Sports Complex.

Dumam-ag’s win became controversial as it appeared that the opening round of the 12-round fight exceeded three minutes.

Based on the Facebook live streaming of ARQ Sports, Dumam-ag (10W-0L-D, 7KOs) knocked Macado down with a combination to the head with 13 seconds left in the clock. There were only four seconds left when Macado (8W-1L, 4KOs) of the Cebu City-based ARQ Boxing Stable beat the mandatory 10-count of referee Danrex Tapdasan. 

The fight resumed and the time could have expired already but the bell did not sound signaling the end of the round. As the fight continued, Dumam-ag scored a second knockdown but Macado again beat the referee’s count.

With Macado visibly groggy, Dumam-ag pressed on the attack and downed his opponent for the third time. Tapdasan called a halt to the fight as Macado laid flat on the canvas.

Jason Arquisola, manager of Macado and chief of ARQ Sports Promotion, has formally filed a complaint before the office Games and Amusement Board Chairman Richard Clarin.

Arquisola asked Clarin to conduct a “thorough review of the fight on the grounds that it has exceeded the standard time of three minutes per round in a pro boxing match.”

Arquisola complained that the round going beyond three minutes “somehow put the life of our boxer at risk in that terribly dangerous situation.”

“Based on our own video recording, there's only four seconds left when Dumam-ag first scored a knockdown against Macado. To our surprise, the match went on a bit longer that it even reached a total time of nearly four minutes, 55 seconds beyond the allotted three-minute frame in every round to be exact. That resulted to Macado suffering two more knockdowns before the official stoppage by referee Danrex Tapdasan. The customary clapper signal to warn the boxers of the last 10 seconds in a round wasn't even carried out,” Arquisola said in the complaint.

“Such crucial lapse and gross neglect of duty by the timekeepers has placed Macado in a huge disadvantage and above all, in grave danger. Had the bout been stopped on time, it would have been a completely different story. Macado could have been saved by the bell and gained much needed time to recover,” added Arquisola.

In the co-main event, former world champion Vic Saludar needed just 37 seconds to knock out Thailander Sanchai Yotboon and copped the WBO Oriental mini flyweight belt.