On Saturday at Polideportivo Municipal in La Pampa, light welterweight Martin Antonio Coggi took a big step up in class to knock off Carlos Wilfredo Vilches via unanimous decision and capture the South American title.

25 year old Buenos Aires southpaw Coggi, 21-2-1 (11), had largely mixed with a lesser grade of opposition and was just eight months from a tenth and final round stoppage loss at the hands of veteran Diego Martin Alzugaray when he met Vilches in the ring.

Vilches, 54-9-2 (32), has swapped punches with some of the top light welters in the world but if a fourth round KO loss to former world champion Juan Urango during a IBF title eliminator in April was a sign that the 32 year old from Sante Rosa had slipped a bit, the loss to domestic level operator Coggi confirmed the notion.

There was a battery of action in the Land of Silver on Friday with the hotspot being Buenos Aires.

At Club Ferro Carril Oeste, the vacant South American Light Heavyweight Championship was sorted when Julio Cesar Dominquez, 19-4-1 (13), dropped former Argentine Super Middle titlist Martin Abel Bruer, 19-4 (1), in the second before KO'ing his crosstown local rival in the fifth round. More...

A pretty busy weekend in the Land of Silver and this recap of events starts last night at the Asociacion Athletica Quimsa in the northern city of Santiago Del Estero, which has the distinction of being the earliest Spanish established town in the country.

The evening's entertainment was headlined by a barnburner at light welter with Carlos Martin "El Finito" Ahumada, 14-0 (5), of Buenos Aires dropping local southpaw Gaston Sebastian Isasmendi Sellan, 20-10-1 (4), in the eighth before pulling out a ten round majority decision.

Local welter Walter Damian Diaz, 25-7-1 (15), bounced back from his failed bid to unseat South American Light Welter Champ Carlos Wilfredo Vilches in a rematch by producing his second consecutive knockout, ending the ambitions of crosstown rival Ariel Sebastian Villalba, 20-10 (10).

Another area man, Carlos Ricardo Rodriguez, 19-2 (10), came back from his loss to WBC Mundo Hispano Featherweight titlist Felipe Carlos Felix in September with a fourth round KO of La Rioja's Cristian Javier Olmedo, 5-7-3 (1), in a return match to their June bout that Rodriguez won on points.

Also in the north, there were two cards on Friday in Tucuman province with heavyweight action in Graneros that saw former WBC Mundo Hispano titlist Manuel Alberto Pucheta, 21-3 (15), KO Ricardo Zenon Pereyra, 6-13-2 (4), in the second and Sebastian Ignacio Ceballos, 13-6-1 (8), also won by knockout when he starched 41 year old Paraguayan southpaw Nicasio Moray Martinez, 28-21-4 (12), in the fourth. More...

It was a big weekend in The Land of Silver and we start off last night in Rio Negro where South American Lightweight Champion Aldo Nazareno Rios, 45-4 (11), enjoyed a rare knockout win by crushing Sergio Daniel Ledesma, 23-14-1 (9), in the first round during a non-title fight at Polideportivo Municipal Stadium Number 2.

Rios, a former IBO Lightweight Champion, has enjoyed a tremendous career, falling short only to world champions Stevie Johnston, Artur Grigorian, Ricky Hatton, Isaac Hlatswayo since turning pro in 1995.

On the undercard, middleweight Billi "El Nino" Godoy, 11-0 (6), stayed perfect by knocking out Adrian Marcelo Nieva, 8-9-2 (3), in the third round.

At Club Tomas De Rocamora in Entre Rios, Argentine Light Welter titlist Cesar Rene Cuenca, 33-0 (1), stayed on track for a world title shot by posting a unanimous decision over Marcelo Martin Miranda, 11-11-3 (3), in a ten round non-title bout. More...