Boxing South Of The Border: Weekend Results

It was a good weekend for the fights in Central and South America. The highlight of Friday night was Jorge Linares’ WBA Super Feather title win in Panama City, already reported upon, but there were also two major title fights on Saturday in Mexico.

WBC Light Flyweight Chamion Edgar Sosa had a good challenge on his hands from tough Filipino southpaw Juanito Rubilar as the pair stood toe to toe and took turns lashing the other to head and body for six contentious rounds at Arena Mexico in Mexico City.

Neither man took a backward step in the dogfight but it wasn’t until Sosa caught Rubilar in the seventh round with double left hook to the head then body that the challenger began to crack.

Rubilar withstood the followup blitz but by the end of the round he was getting hammered in the corner by the champion, prompting a referee stoppage at 2:54 of the frame.

Sosa solidifies his position as the top light flyweight in the world, improving to 34-5 (18), winning his 22nd consecutive bout and retaining his WBC title for the seventh time.

Rubilar drops to 46-11-7 (22), failing in his third bid for a full world title and sees a seven bout winning streak come to a close.

At Toluca, the vacant IBF Super Flyweight crown was won by Francisco Arce, 28-4-2 (19), who KO’d Panama’s William De Sousa, 15-12-1 (13), in the second round.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the domestic super middleweight title was fought over at Club Social y Deportivo 12 de Octubre in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Centenario veteran Nestor Fabian Casanova, 22-12 (9), came into the bout as the reigning Argentine Champ but “La Jirafa” was unseated by his nemesis, local man Ruben Eduardo Acosta, 20-3-5 (6).

The occasion marked the third bout between the pair and this time the result was the same as the first two clashes as Casanova was dropped in the fifth before getting canvassed three times in the sixth, when he was stopped.

Acosta adds the Argentine title to his impressive trophy cabinet, which also includes the South American and WBO Latino Super Middle belts along with the WBC Mundo Hispano Middleweight title.

The 30 year old from Mar Del Plata has only come up short against Mariano Natalio Carrera, who went on to win the WBA Middleweight title, Anthony Mundine, who was between WBA Super Middle title reigns and Karoly Balzsay, who is scheduled to compete for the WBO Super Middle title in January.

On Friday, ex-WBA Lightweight Champ Jose Alfaro, 21-4 (19), returned from his title loss to Yukuse Kobori in May by stopping Mexican journeyman Baudel Cardenas, 17-15-2 (6), in the third at Casino Pharos in Managua, Nicaragua.

At Cilindro Municipal in Montevideo, Uruguay, local man Caril Herrera, 22-1 (13), bounced back from his IBF Super Flyweight title eliminator loss to AJ Banal by stepping up to super bantam and engaging in an all-southpaw firefight with iron-chinned Argentine featherweight Miguel Leonardo “La Cobra” Caceres, 12-10-2 (4), before pulling out a close points win after ten rounds.