Tucson Arena, Arizona - WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez (23-0, 19 KOs) survived the first knockdown of his career and some tough moments to win a twelve round unanimous decision over previously undefeated challenger Genesis Servania (29-1, 12 KOs). The scores were 116-110, 119-111 and 117-109. Photos Mikey Williams/Top Rank.
Valdez controlled the first three rounds, but then Servania dropped him in the fourth - and then rocked him again before the round was over. It was the first knockdown of Valdez's career.
Valdez came firing back in the fifth, dropping Servania hard with a huge left hand. Servania got up and weathered the storm to survive as Valdez was trying to finish him off.
Then at the end of the sixth, it was Servania who rallied with a lot of punches to stagger Valdez. The same scenario in the seventh, as Servania came on strong in the final twenty second with a lot of punches to possibly steal the round. The next two rounds saw Valdez with the edge, fighting his way with Servania in there and also throwing hard shots.
Servania was wasting too much time waiting to land a hard shot, which allowed Valdez to outbox and outwork him in the later rounds. They were both throwing hard stuff in the twelfth and final round, and both had their moments - especially in the last ten seconds when there were trading punches in toe to toe fashion.
In a battle of undefeated super middleweights, Gilberto Ramirez (36-0, 24 KOs) won a twelve round unanimous decision over mandatory challenger Jesse Hart (22-1, 18 KOs) to retain the WBO world title. The scores were 115-112, 115-112, 114-113.
