Noel Tuñacao: Filipino IBO Minimumweight Champion
Filipino boxer Noel Tuñacao won the vacant IBO minimumweight title in Bali on 8 March 2003, stopping Indonesia’s Abrin Matta in the 11th round. The victory followed a long layoff from boxing.
Noel Tuñacao’s rise through Philippine boxing
Tuñacao came from Cebu and began his professional career in 1990. Nicknamed “The Eel,” he boxed from an orthodox stance and was the older brother of former WBC flyweight champion Malcolm Tuñacao.
His early success brought a WBA light-flyweight title opportunity against Hiroki Ioka in Kitakyushu, Japan, on 31 March 1992. Ioka won by unanimous decision over 12 rounds. That is the contest featured in the embedded video, which predates Tuñacao’s IBO championship victory by nearly 11 years.
Tuñacao subsequently held the Philippine Boxing Federation minimumweight title in 1993 and the Philippine Games and Amusement Board flyweight title in 1995. Those domestic championships came before an extended absence from competition and his return to the ring in 2000.
The Bali championship and later challenges
His 2003 win over Matta took place in Denpasar, Bali. Minimumweight, also called strawweight, has a 105-pound limit. The IBO championship was distinct from the WBA light-flyweight title he had previously challenged for at 108 pounds.
Tuñacao later challenged Puerto Rico’s Ivan Calderon for the WBO minimumweight championship on 30 April 2005. Calderon won by technical knockout. Tuñacao’s recorded opposition also included Eagle Den Junlaphan and Muhammad Rachman, placing several internationally recognized champions on his career schedule. These results give the Bali victory its context within a lengthy career spanning domestic and overseas competition.
Contemporary Philstar coverage reports the comeback and title win; the IBO title record lists the championship result. Sources: Career profile; Dated bout record; [1] [2]
Sources
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
