Jade Bornea, now (17-0 KO11), made a loud statement by scoring a nasty third round knockout win over Mohammed Obbadi in Mexico. Obbadi gave Bornea a tough fight in the opening round but started feeling the Filipino’s power in the second.

It was in the fateful third stanza that Bornea hurt Obaddi with a power right hook. Sensing a hurt opponent, Bornea followed with a sharp left uppercut to the rib cage which send Obaddi to his knees in a delayed reaction.

Obbadi failed to beat the count hence prompting the referee to stop the fight at the 1:25 mark. Bornea earns the top spot in the IBF junior bantamweight rankings and makes him mandatory challenger to fellow Filipino Jerwin Ancajas.

Ancajas is scheduled to defend his title his title against Fernando Daniel Martinez of Argentina in February and may schedule a unification showdown with WBO champ Kazuto Ioka.

Meanwhile, Bornea’s manager and Sanman CEO Jim Claude Manangquil is not eager of staging him against fellow Filipino in Ancajas, who is being handled by MP Promotions.

“Now that Jade is in the prime spot at the rankings, it will be easier to look for bigger fights for him. We will take our time. We will sit down and discuss the options," Manangquil said.

Bornea could not contain his happiness with the sensational win.

“I promised my team and my countrymen that I will take win in an exciting fashion. And thank God I did. It was a great game plan and I stuck to it. Obbadi was strong but I can handle his shots. I was waiting for a perfect opening and I found it in the third round," Bornea said.

"He has a good chin but I sensed I could hurt him more with a body shot. I look forward to get a title shot soon. I would like to thank Sanman Promotions, Probellum and Sean Gibbons for making all these possible."