Last night at the Gimnasio Municipal Number 1 in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, light welterweight Martin Antonio Coggi, 22-2-1 (12), retained his South American title for the first time with a second round KO of Brazil's Juciel Lima Nascimento, 20-9-1 (14).

Coggi had climbed to the top of the heap with a superb unanimous decision over longtime South American kingpin Carlos Wilfredo Vilches last November while Nascimento was coming way up in weight following his failed bid at the IBF international Feather crown against Frenchman Cyril Thomas last August.

On the undercard, Yesica Yolanda Bopp, 8-0 (3), retained her Interim WBA Female Light Flyweight title with a wide ten round points decision against Mexico's Jessica Chavez, 6-2-2 (1). More...

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...