Uganda’s Sulaiman Segawa beats Ruben Villa by UD to capture WBC silver belt
Sulaiman Segawa (17-4-1, 6 KOs) knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and he made the most of it.
The 33-year-old Ugandan upset Ruben Villa (22-2, 7 KOs) via 10-round unanimous decision to capture the WBC Silver featherweight title.
Segawa set the tone for tonight’s co-feature with high output from the opening bell. In the fourth round, Villa attempted to turn the tide by changing angles to land right hooks and even hurting Segawa to the body.
In the eighth, Segawa sent Villa reeling with consecutive left hands before Villa hurt him again with several body blows.
In the final rounds, Segawa’s relentlessness prevailed, earning him the nod by scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94. Segawa won the last two rounds on all three judges’ cards.
Segawa said, “He prepared and trained hard. I knew he’d be a tough fighter. But in my camp, we stayed ready. We always stay ready. So I had to train hard. It’s all hard work.
“126, baby. Here we are. Top Rank, let’s do it!”
Junior Welterweight: Charlie Sheehy (10-0, 5 KOs) earned an eight-round unanimous points verdict over Ricardo Quiroz (13-5, 7 KOs). Sheehy encountered trouble in the opening rounds with Quiroz’s counters but found his rhythm down the stretch with straight shots from the outside. Scores: 78-74 and 77-75 2x.
Welterweight: 18-year-old phenom Art Barrera Jr. (6-0, 4 KOs) triumphed with a six-round unanimous decision against Javier Mayoral (6-6-1, 1 KO). Barrera floored Mayoral with a left hook followed by a right uppercut in the opening stanza and again in the fourth with a straight right hand, but the Mexican southpaw survived. Scores: 60-52 3x.
Junior Lightweight: Jonathan Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) landed a perfectly timed left hook to the body that stopped Leonardo Padilla (23-6-1, 16 KOs) in the first round of their scheduled eight-rounder. Lopez turned him to land more, but the liver shot was enough to put him down for the count. Time of stoppage: 1:43.
Junior Lightweight: Albert Gonzalez (9-0, 5 KOs) scored a sixth-round TKO over Conrado Martinez (9-2). Gonzalez was relentless from the opening bell, wearing Martinez down with body shots. By the fourth, Martinez was on the verge of being stopped but survived until the sixth, where several unanswered shots forced referee Thomas Taylor to halt the action. Time of stoppage: 1:23.
Junior Welterweight: Israel Mercado (11-1-1, 7 KOs) defeated Dondrell Haynes (8-2, 7 KOs) over six rounds of back-and-forth action. Mercado overcame height and reach disadvantages with right hooks to the body and short lefts on the inside. Scores: 60-54 and 59-55 2x.
Junior Lightweight: Milawuakee-born southpaw Javier Zamarron (9-0, 4 KOs) scored a hard-earned unanimous decision win over Mikey Bracamontes (9-2-1, 5 KOs). Scores: 59-55 3x.
Top Rank