By Carlos Irusta

Or a victory to remember? Jorge Rodrigo “The Hyena” Barrios, WBO super featheweightr world champion, defeated in 10 rounds, by unanimous,decision Nazareno Gaston Ruiz - a former national superfeather champion. The bout was held at San Nicolás, Buenos Aires province last Friday.

Barrios obtained an easy victory, without emotions. His pro record is 45-2-1 (32 KO), while Ruiz is 22-9-0 (8 KO). A survivor, Ruiz adopted to taking non-risk fights, far from the infighting, without running, just walking the ring.

Of course, the fight is not relevant on the Barrios record, but it's important according to what he's expecting. Barrios has his sights set on a fight with Marco Antonio Barrera to take place sometime next year. Barrios, who is working for Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions, obtained his crown in April of this year against an overweight Mike Anchondo.

“I want to fight Barrera, I want big challenges, I want to be in the top”, said Barrios. He is named “The Hyena” for his hysterical way of laughing.

Yes, he can fight Barrera, but he will need a different kind of training. In the Ruiz bout he looked too slow, and fought without putting combinations together.

On the same card, Damian David Marchiano (11-1-1-4) scored a unanimous decision over Pablo David Sepulveda (12-2-0-5), capturing the national bantamweight championship. A couple of months ago, Sepulveda defeated Marchiano, capturing the South American belt. The most important thing is that their two fights were sensational, and fans are clamoring for a third edition.

To touch on other happenings. On Saturday, December 17, at Rosario, Venezuelan Marco Antonio Avendaño stopped Sebastián Luján in rounds. He floored Lujan twice. Avendaño is now 21-5-114KO) and the new Fedelatin WBA welterweight champion. Lujan, who made a tremendous effort in front of Antonio Margarito in the opening quarter of this year, is 24-3-2-16KO, 1 ND.

It was an interesting weekend in Argentinean boxing, full of surprises. Including the victory of Barrios, because everyone around country expected a KO, not a boring decision in 10…