Boxing
Carlo Pamintuan 6y

Michael Dasmariñas sees experience as advantage in fight vs. Manyo Plange

Boxing

For the third straight time, Filipino bantamweight Michael Dasmariñas will be fighting in Singapore as he continues his search for prominence in the sweet science.

"Singapore feels like a second home to me already because it'll be my third fight," Dasmariñas said in an exclusive interview with ESPN5. "In my second fight there, I performed well and gained more fans."

Back in April 20, Dasmariñas claimed the vacant International Boxing Organization (IBO) bantamweight title with a scintillating fourth-round knockout victory against Karim Guerfi of France, the biggest name on the 26-year-old's list of victims.

"My last fight was the best of my career. Karim Guerfi was the fourth-ranked fighter in the World Boxing Council (WBC) while I was ranked 12th," he shared. "So I was really inspired to fight well because I took it as a challenge."

Dasmariñas, also known as "Gloves on Fire," is now hoping to build even more momentum as he takes on the undefeated and dangerous Manyo Plange of Ghana on September 29.

Fighting for the first time outside his home country, Plange will be staking his perfect record of 17 wins without a defeat. He is known as a knockout artist as only two of his opponents managed to make it to the final bell.

"His record is good. We're both heavy hitters. My advantage is my experience because I have more fights compared to him," said Dasmariñas, who holds a record of 28 wins against two losses with 19 wins coming via knockout.

Even though he's coming off the biggest victory of his career, Dasmariñas is not resting on his laurels, training just as hard as the last time he fought.

"My training now is just like what I did before in preparation for my last fight against Guerfi," he said. "My training in Japan helped in my upcoming fight because I sparred with a super bantamweight world champion. He was also strong so it was a great experience for me."

The world champion he was referring to was Japan's Ryosuke Iwasa who was dethroned by TJ Doheny of Australia last month.

Not the type who'd predict the outcome of the fight, Dasmariñas instead simply asked for the support of Filipino fight fans, especially those living in Singapore. The fight card will have Singaporean Muhamad Ridhwan gunning for the IBO super bantamweight title against Namibia's Paulus Ambunda.

Dasmariñas' IBO bantamweight title will not be on the line but he knows a lot is at stake in his match. Ranked sixth by both the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation, Dasmariñas is hoping that a win against Plange can set him up for a unification bout against one of the champions of the four major boxing titles.

^ Back to Top ^