BOXING AT THE FORUM : Pascua Walks Away, Beaten in 10 by Cob Castro

The House of Upsets claimed another victim Monday night.

In the same Forum ring where he shocked Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez last December, Rolando Pascua lost his World Boxing Council light-flyweight championship.

Pascua, drained from losing 10 pounds in the last four days and behind on all scorecards, surrendered to Melchor Cob Castro, of Mexico, at 1:59 of the 10th round.

The champion from the Philippines took a right hand to the jaw, turned his back and walked to his corner, where he sank to his knees.

Referee Rudy Jordan raised Cob Castro’s hand, and Pascua joined Gonzalez, Juan Estrada, Paul Banke and Raul Perez on the list of heavy favorites who have been dethroned in Inglewood.

Pascua had been scheduled to fight a rematch with Gonzalez on the Virgil Hill-Thomas Hearns undercard June 3 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Now the assignment will go to Cob Castro, although he is Gonzalez’s stablemate.

“I was very surprised how easy the fight was,” Cob Castro said.

Pascua was lethargic from the start in the style of a fighter who had trouble making the championship weight limit of 108 pounds.

He got down to 107 3/4, the same as Cob Castro, but never flashed the speed or power of the night he knocked out the previously unbeaten Gonzalez in the sixth round.

Cob Castro (29-2, 14 knockouts) caught Pascua (25-6, nine knockouts) with a big right hand in the eighth round, battered him against the ropes in the ninth and was leading by one, three and five points on the officials’ scorecards.

“I was exhausted,” Pascua said.

He was booed out of the ring by many in the crowd of 4,598.

In the semi-main event, Bryant Paden, 136 3/4, stopped Fabian Tejeda, 136, on cuts in the eighth round.