BoxingScene.com caught up with 108 pound Ring Magazine champion Giovani "The Aztec Warrior" Segura after his third round knockout of former two division champion Ivan Calderon. Segura admitted his punches were borderline to being low blows but felt that Calderon wasn't going to be able to withstand the body attack regardless and that the knockout was coming.
At the Auditorio del Estado in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, WBO junior flyweight champion Giovani Segura (27-1-1, 23KOs) stopped Ivan Calderon (34-2-1, 6KOs) in the third round of their rematch. Last August, Segura stopped Calderon in eight rounds.
At the Auditorio del Estado in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, WBO junior flyweight champion Giovani Segura (27-1-1, 23KOs) stopped Ivan Calderon (34-2-1, 6KOs) in the third round of their rematch. Last August, Segura stopped Calderon in eight rounds.
By Jake Donovan - The first fight marked the end of Ivan Calderon’s long run as lineal junior flyweight king. Saturday night might have ended his career. Both instances have come at the heavy hands of Mexican knockout artist Giovani Segura, who made the first successful defense of his junior flyweight championship on Saturday evening with a third round stoppage of Calderon in Mexicali, Mexico. The fight was fun for as long as it lasted, but never had the chance to develop into the fantastic Fight of the Year entry which took place last August. Calderon tried his mightiest to reverse the course of their first fight, but his pure boxing ability was only going to carry him so far. It was enough to remain competitive in the first two rounds, if not win them outright. The plan was for Calderon to establish his jab and find any way to prevent Segura from working his way inside. But when you are only 5’0”, on the wrong side of your 30’s and prime and boast minimal punching power, keeping an opponent at bay is almost always a struggle. Segura realized in this in their first fight and kept imposing his will until he was able to break the diminutive Puerto Rican. He kept it in mind for this bout, even if having to overcome a bit of adversity. The heavy-handed Mexican saw his body attack come into scrutiny by referee Samuel Viruet, who warned the defending champion for throwing low. Whereas most fighters would’ve changed up and proceed with nothing but head shots, Segura remained convince that the best course of action would be to break Calderon’s spirit and will. As such, he never quit throwing downstairs – at least until Calderon decided he could no longer take the punishment.
Mexicali, BC. - WBO junior flyweight champion Giovani Segura will look to knock Ivan Calderon out as quickly as possible. Last August in Puerto Rico, Segura knocked Calderon out in eight rounds. It was the first defeat of Calderon's long career. The rematch is shifting to Segura's native soil, but the Mexican champion won't allow the local advantage to make himself feel more comfortable. Calderon has vowed to display a different look and strategy. Segura expects the same Calderon.
At the Auditorio del Estado in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, super flyweight prospect Alsono "Finito" Lopez (9-0-1, 3KOs) went six rounds for the first time in his career, winning a six round unanimous decision over Jorge Guerrero (3-5, 2KOs). Other than having his knees rocked in the third round, Lopez dominated the action. The scores were 59-55, 60-54 and 60-55.
BoxingScene.com has sought the opinion of 11 boxing insiders as to their thoughts on who will win Saturday night's rematch between Mexican-born, 28-year-old, WBA and WBO junior flyweight king, Giovani Segura, of Bell Gardens, Calif., and the man he dethroned, 35-year-old southpaw ex-titlist, Ivan Calderon, of Puerto Rico.
He’s younger. He’s bigger. He hits harder. He’s fighting in his home country. He already won by knockout on his opponent’s national turf.
The weights are in for Saturday's big rematch. Iván “Iron Boy” Calderón and WBO junior flyweight champion Giovani Segura made weight for their fight at the Auditorio del Estado in Mexicali, Baja California. Calderon (34-1-1, 6KOs) came in at 107-pounds, while Segura (26-1-1, 22KOs) was 108-pounds. Segura stopped Calderon last August. Photos by Joel Colon/PRBBP
By Cliff Rold - We remember the remarkable rematch turnarounds. Evander Holyfield made technical adjustments, and got his wind up thanks to one “Fan Man,” and got past Riddick Bowe the second time around. Rocky Graziano snared the Middleweight title when Tony Zale made the fateful decision to give him a second crack at it. Joe Louis nuked Max Schmeling before the Manhattan Project changed the world. We remember the nights when special fighters seized legendary moments, quenching the blood thirst of revenge. And why wouldn’t we? Those nights are not that common. Most of the time it seems, and if memory serves it’s been quantified somewhere, rematches go the way of the first fight, if shorter. It makes sense, especially when first fights end by knockout. As the pressure increases, as the heat rises in the ring, the man who won the first time around knows he can finish. The previously vanquished hopes he can but draws only on the knowledge of failure. Failure in boxing isn’t like failure elsewhere. Former Straweight and, more recently, World Jr. Flyweight Champion Ivan Calderon (34-1-1, 6 KO) of Puerto Rico felt the bruises, the aches, probably had trouble with a deep breath or two, after he found out last August. In the BoxingScene and Ring Magazine Fight of the Year for 2010, Calderon gave everything he had. It wasn’t enough. The heavy hands, relentless pressure, and focused body assault of Mexico’s Giovanni Segura (26-1-1, 22 KO) was too much. The end came in the eighth round, Calderon forced to his knees by the strength of a man just shy of seven years younger. Segura, already the WBA titlist, added Calderon's lineal, Ring, and WBO honors.