By Jake Donovan
On an Saturday that saw four champions lose their belts and numerous upsets occur, current junior flyweight titlist Giovanni Segura helped bring status quo back to the forefront.
The heavy-handed Mexican had no problems in his TV Azteca-televised main event, scoring an opening round body shot knockout of Sonny Boy Jaro in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
For a fight that took two tries to finally materialize, the anticipation far exceeded the action.
Segura wasted no time going to work, immediately taking the fight to the diminutive Filipino. No sooner than the fight began, did Segura have his man in trouble.
From there, Segura went on to do what he does best – close the show the moment he has his man in trouble. Jaro was put out of his misery quick and clean, taking a left to the body to drop him for the full ten count.
Both fighters entered the ring riding two-fight knockout win streaks. However, it’s Segura who extends his run of quick hits, scoring his third straight win as he advances to 22-1-1 (18KO).
Jaro falls to 30-8-5 (19KO) with the loss, his first since falling to Edgar Sosa in a separate title shot during his last trip to Mexico from his native Philippines more than a year ago.
Talks of a potential Segura-Sosa unification match have often been discussed. As is often the case, the longer you discuss a fight the greater chance it has of falling apart.
There still exists the possibility of the two fighting; only it will no longer be for two belts. Sosa, the division’s longest reigning and by far most active titlist, suffered a huge upset second round knockout loss against Rodel Mayol on a separate show in Mexico earlier in the evening.
Segura could always set his sights on Mayol, having already stopped Filipino junior flyweights in his past two bouts.
Saturday’s bout with Jaro was rescheduled from this past July, when Segura wound up facing very late substitute Juanito Rubillar after Jaro was unable to make the trip due to unforeseen visa issues. Other than having to face a southpaw after training to face an orthodox fighter, Segura breezed through the fight, stopping Rubillar in six rounds.
Four months later came the long-awaited tune-up against Jaro, with Segura having an even easier go of things, picking up his 10th career first round knockout.
While a Mayol fight would further extend the interesting Mexico v. Filipino in-ring rivalry, the fight that Segura most covets is a crack at the division’s lineal king, Ivan Calderon.
Segura spoke at length this summer about securing fights against the sport’s best, as he’s uncertain how long he can continue to squeeze down to 108 lb or how long he wants to remain in the sport in general.
Deep in the rearview mirror is the lone loss of his career, which came at the hands of Cesar Canchilla more than a year. Included among Segura’s three-fight win streak was a fourth-round knockout win over the Colombian this past February.
The revenge knockout helped return Segura’s career back to normal. So too did his early blitzing of Sonny Boy Jaro, about the only major fight on Saturday’s schedule that went according to plan.
TELEVISED UNDERCARD
Unbeaten super bantamweight Ramon Maas appears ready for a massive leap in competition after easily knocking out obscure journeyman Flavio Hernandez in the televised co-feature.
As was the case with every other bout on the show, the action was all one way in this brief affair, with Maas (18-0, 11KO) landing at will. The fight ending sequence came on the strength of consecutive punishing left hands, the first stunning Hernandez (4-4-1, 3 KO) before a jab and straight dropped him in the corner for the full ten count.
Maas has now won four straight in 2009, but has yet to fight anyone worthy enough of determining whether or not he’s the goods.
Mexican flyweight contender Juan Kantun (14-1, 11KO) easily walked through late substitute Charly Valenzuela (17-11-3, 7KO), scoring two knockdowns en route to a second round knockout of the televised opener.
Kantun dominated from the opening bell, finding Valenzuela to be a wide open target. A right hand produced the first knockdown, towards the end of the opening round, but it was left hook city in the second. Kantun was brutal with his body attack before bringing it upstairs, landing several viciously clean left hooks on Valenzuela’s dome before dropping him for the ten count.
The official time was 2:50 of round two.
It’s now three straight knockout wins for Kantun, whose lone loss came to the resurging Wilbert Ulcab last August. Kantun’s three fight win/knockout streak has all occurred in the past four months.
Equally active though to not quite as much success, Valenzuela’s modest three-fight win streak comes to a close. The bout was his third in less than a month, having fought just eight days ago before agreeing to this fight late in the week.
Filling up airtime, local prospect Aaron Herrera impressed with an opening round knockout over Jose “Lobo” Ramirez in a televised swing bout. Herrera was dominant throughout the brief affair before a crippling body shot dropped Ramirez for the ten count, at 2:40 of the first round.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
