By James Blears, at ringside
Arena Stadium at the Oasis Hotel, Cancun - In a giant mini-classic North vs. South confrontation between two Mexican warriors Edgar Sosa (45-7, 27KOs) won a unamious twelve round decison over local favorite Wilbert Uicab (33-7-1, 18KOs) in the official eliminator for the WBC flyweight title, with the WBC silver belt at stake.
The buildup thrilled the crowd to a frenzy. Edgar's entrance was heraled by an eagle man, while women in indigenous costumes led Wilbert in. The Mexican National Anthem was in the Mayan language and then in Spanish.
The fireworks started when Wilbert put Edgar down hard with a monster left hook, fractions before the bell for the end of the first round. Edgar got up fast, but was shaken to his boots and the bell followed almost instantly.
Over the next two rounds Edgar recovered from this near disaster to intelligently use his reach via the left jab to spear the incoming Wilberth.
The fireworks re-erupted at the start of round four when Wilberth in a demo of macho picked up Edgar and threw him to ground. Ref Jay Nady deducted a point and with tempers lost the pair fought toe to toe for a thrilling thirty seconds.
By the sixth round Edgar was finding the range with sections of the crowd wildly chanting both mens' names. The tide was turning and within five seconds of the bell a looping left hook put Wilbert on to his haunches.
In the seventh Edgar had Wilbert in desperate trouble, backed up against the ropes landing multi combinations to the head - as Wilberth managed to somehow fight his way back by dipping and hooking.
The eighth was almost as torried with Wilberth going down, punched behind the head, but instantly being hauled up by Nady.
At the end of the fourth, the announced scores favored Wilbert. But by the end of the eighth - Edgar had clawed his way in front.
Edgar was using his longer reach and following up with effecive rights and the power was ebbing from Wilbert although he was catching Edgar with some hard rights. Edgar's momentum was better but his face was a mass of bumps and swellings.
The eleventh was trench warfare - hand to hand combat - with Edgar landing long lefts and Wilbert finding the target less frequently with sything rights.
Both men went to war in the twelfth. A left hook snapped Edgar's head back but he shook his head saying no. They fought toe to toe with absolutely frightening intensity to the end. The crowd on its feet was going absolutely wild! Sheer thrilling undiluted Warefare miniture Mexican style!
Junior welterweight Humberto "Zorrita" Soto from Los Mochis gave Brazilian fighter Claudinei Lacerda a comprehsensive boxing lesson, but failed to stop him.
The vastly more experienced and stone faced Soto (57-7-2 34 KO's) dished Lacerda (14-2-0 10 KO's) a torried opening round, twice trapping him on the ropes and plastering his ribs with some wicked combinations. Through the next two rounds Soto stalked the Brazilian and unloaded with frightening accuracy and jarring effect, finding both the body and head with ease.
By the midway mark the effect of the midriff attack had changed the Brazilian's body language and he was moving away, often missing and his ungainlyness was being pounced upon and punished, especially with left hooks to the head. His classic fractured nose took more punishment, but although Lacerda buckled on numerous occasions - he refused to fold, often dropping his hands and glaring at Zorrita when combinations to the head and body found their mark.
Although Zorrita continued to stalk and deliver a steady stream of largely unanswered punishment, he seemed to tire somewhat in the last three rounds, and the pace noticeably lulled.
The Southern crowed chanting "Mexico, Mexico" in the final round - willing their Norterner paisano to conclude the one way traffic by knocking down the Brazilian, but Lacerda finished on his feet to lose a massively lopsided unanimous decision.
Mexico City's Dante "Crazy" Jardon overpowered Berman Sanchez from Nicaragua in a super featherweight bout. Sanchez stayed on his stool, after the end of the sixth. Jardon (19-2-0 17 KO's) showed patience and maturity when tide turned in the second, as Jardon dropped the Nicaraguan with a long rasping right hook to the side of the head, following up with a sustained body and head attack.
Sanchez ( 26-3-3 18 KO's) had his moments, especially with some short range and landing sinking body clouts. But Jardon, who belied his name, with a patient onslaught, refused to be distracted, and found the target more often and much easier, against a tiring opponet who increasingly went into defense mode, until he had enough by the end of the sixth of a ten rounder.
Juan Pablo "Lagarto" Sanchez (18-10-1 8 KO's) from Tabasco, brutalized Alejandro "Pachuco" Mendez (7-7-2 5 ko's) in a lightweight bout.
It could have all been over in the second - when Sanchez launched an onslaught topped with a right uppercut which nearly decapitated the overmatched Mendez, who showed great courage to stay up.
A sustained body attack from Sanchez, which switched upstairs, intensified and weakened Mendez. The referee stopped the fight at 1:09 of the sixth.