Macao-born boxer Alvin Salinas earned his first professional win during his professional debut at the Ultimate Knockout Challenge (UKC): Full Blast competition, which took place yesterday at Elorde Sports Centre in Manila.
The 22-year-old Macao athlete, who is of Philippine descent, was fighting against Filipino competitor Mateo Caparoso in the minimum weight division, which has a total of four rounds.
Footage from the roughly 5-minute bout showed Salinas maintaining a more defensive approach to the fight in the first round, engaging in measured attacks against his opponent. During the second round, the Macao boxer went on the offensive and successfully landed a blow on Caparoso’s abdomen before dealing a knock-out blow.
On his win, Salinas told Sports Journal Macao that he was excited and proud.
“It’s of great significance to me to be able to showcase my sweat and toil on this stage,” the young boxer was quoted as saying. “I want to thank my coach, my team and everyone who has supported me.”
[See more: ‘I feel much more sure of myself.’ Macao-born boxer Alvin Salinas wants to compete on the big stage]
Salinas said he would continue to train diligently and that his goal was to win glory for Macao by qualifying for the National Games.
Since starting his boxing career at the age of 17, Salinas has taken part in more than 20 amateur fights.
Last November, the boxer bagged his first amateur boxing belt by defeating former champion Yang Pang Li at Hong Kong’s Ultimate Extreme Fight, which was held at the Wan Chai Southorn Stadium.
As a result of the lack of infrastructure for boxing in Macao, the athlete has had to redirect his training to the Philippines, where he has participated in a boxing camp at Elorde Boxing Gym, the training ground of world champion Pedro Taduran.
Salina’s journey into professional boxing was documented in the CGTN film, “Boxing dreams ring of destiny,” which features interviews with his coach, the “Macao Kid,” Ng Kuok Kun, who was the first-ever professional boxer to represent Macao, as well as Ng’s 90-year old coach, Chan Iok Seng.
