By Jake Donovan
One night before two future Hall-of Famers collide in the world’s most famous arena, two fringe featherweight contenders waged all out war in the intimate setting of the Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona.
It was Rogers Mtwaga who was the last man standing by night’s end, overcoming a deficit on the cards and a ninth round knockdown to roar back with three of his own in the final round of a 10th round bailout knockout over Tomas Villa in a legitimate Fight of the Year candidate.
The bout aired live on Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo Tecate.
Both fighters came out swinging from the opening bell. Mtwaga got the party started, courtesy of a series of overhand rights that had Villa momentarily shook. An upset appeared to be in the works for much of the first round, only Mtwaga went to the well once too often with what he believed was his money punch.
Villa caught on, and figured how to time and counter. The result was a well-placed right hand that drove Mtwaga to the ropes. As the round wore on, it was clear to see who had the better game plan - or so the first nine rounds would suggest. Villa remained focus on his target, dodging Mtwaga’s wide punches and landing crisp, compact shots on the inside.
Sound advice came out of Mtwaga’s corner in between rounds, as they urged their fighter to work behind the jab rather than constantly swinging for the fences. It didn’t work out too well; Villa spent much of the second round picking apart Mtwaga, observing every punch while constantly moving into position to counter and maintain control of the tempo.
Mtwaga was already unraveling by the third round, as the Philly-based featherweight simply couldn’t adjust his style to get back into the fight. There wasn’t a punch Villa didn’t land in the round – uppercuts, left hooks, straight rights; all of them eventually found their way to Mtwaga’s chin or body. It’s not to say that there was nothing coming back in return, just that none of it was disrupting Villa’s attack.
That momentarily changed in the fourth; Mtwaga slowed the bum rush with a straight right that drew a reaction from the crowd. Villa recovered well enough to eventually come back with a left hook that appeared to cause a knockdown, only for referee Rocky Burke to rule it a slip. Mtwaga took advantage of the non-call, holding his own with, and often gaining the upper hand on, Villa for the remainder of the round.
A left hook early in the fifth swung the momentum back in favor of the adopted crowd favorite. Not that it lasted very long – pretty much, the theme of the night. Mtwaga came roaring back, cracking Villa with right hands to force Villa into reactionary mode. The two kept the action in a phone booth, Villa hooking to the body while Mtwaga was landing upstairs.
Villa’s straight punches allowed him to control the temp for most of the sixth round. A right cross to the body sent Mtwaga to the ropes early in the round, a left hook driving him across the other side of the ring moments later. As Villa went in stalker mode, Mtwaga attempted to set traps, resulting in several chopping right hands finding their way to his opponent’s chin.
The punches kept flying in the seventh and eighth rounds, though Villa made it a habit of keeping his chin tucked in while picking his shots. Mtwaga was the busier fighter throughout both rounds, but Villa managed to slip or pick off most of the incoming, coming back with straight right hands. A corker of a right by Villa punctuated a frenetic eighth, prompting Mtwaga to respond even though the bell already sounded.
If the fight was any sort of close to this point, Villa attempted to remove all doubt in the ninth. A straight right hand forced Mtwaga to lean back midway through the round for the bout’s first official knockdown. Villa spent most of the rest of the round trying to finish the job.
He failed… in a big way.
Mtwaga survived the onslaught and offered a round-ending flurry to send the message that he was far from out of it.
Villa received it loud and clear in the final round. What was thought to be the final stretch of an apparent points win instead produced the end of his 12-fight unbeaten streak.
Mtwaga fought like a man possessed, landing a massive overhand right to send Villa to the canvas. The Mexican beat the count, but never truly recovered. Two more knockdowns would follow, the last of which forced referee Rocky Burke to intervene without offering a final count.
The official time was 1:20 of the tenth and final round.
The win resurrects the career of Mtwaga, who improves to 25-12-2 (18KO). It’s the first time in over two years that the Tanzanian managed to put together back-to-back wins, having previously outlasted Aldo Valtierra this past March, also on Telefutura.
Gone for the moment is all of the hard work Villa’s put in toward rebuilding his career since his January 2005 loss to Benjamin Flores. He falls to 20-6-4 (13KO) in suffering just the second stoppage loss of his career.
A rematch certainly isn’t out of the question – a knockout emerging from a Fight of the Year contender is practically automatic grounds for a return go. Neither fighter might want to think about it at the moment, not after beating the crap out of each other for nine-plus rounds. Whatever direction they next head, Telefutura’s cameras are almost sure to follow.
The wild main event overshadowed a co-feature that was tame on its own, and downright standstill in comparison. Still, there was plenty of value to be found out of Mercito Gesta’s near shutout over Mexican journeyman Cristian Favela (16-17-5, 10KO).
Nothing of note really stood out in the eight-round junior welterweight bout. Gesta (14-0-1, 5KO) was able to land whatever he want whenever he wanted, but never able to find that money punch to close the bout. Still, it was an impressive performance by the 21-year old Filipino southpaw, who cruised to a clear victory by scores of 79-73 (2x) and 79-71.
The show was presented by Don Chargin Promotions and Peltz Boxing.
Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
