Boxing In Venezuela: Caballero Retains WBA Crown With Victory Over Parra

The Centro Olimpico in San Juan De Los Morros, Venezuela saw Panama’s Celestino Caballero retain his WBA Super Bantamweight title for the fourth occasion when former WBA Flyweight Champion Lorenzo Parra was pulled out in the 12th round with a broken jaw last night.

At 5 foot 4 inches tall, Parra was attempting to overcome the tremendous edge held by the towering super bantamweight champion, who at 5 foot 11, dwarfed the local challenger.

Initially, Parra’s quickness of hand and foot allowed him to win exchanges but as he began to tire, the former flyweight kingpin became more and more hittable.

Nevertheless, Parra soldiered on and while he had his moments, Caballero was clearly winning the fight when the action was stopped due in the final round to a jaw injury suffered by the challenger.

Caballero gets credit for a 12th round stoppage to improve to 29-1 (20), winning his tenth straight since losing to slugger Ricardo Cordoba four years ago.

Parra, 28-2 (18), loses for the second time in his last three appearances after winning his first 27 bouts.