Dominican boxer Héctor García beat Venezuela’s Roger Gutiérrez on Saturday and took his World Boxing Association (WBA) super featherweight title, while his compatriot Alberto Puello won the super lightweight title.
In a first fight held in Hollywood (Florida, United States), the judges gave victory by unanimous decision to the undefeated García with a card in favor of 118-110 and two of 117-111.
"Thank God for this victory after so much sacrifice"Garcia said. "The victory was very important for me and for my country".
The 30-year-old Dominican improved his record to 16 wins and 0 losses while Gutiérrez, 27, has a balance of 26-4 and a tie.
The boxer from Maracaibo let his 130-pound (59 kg) division crown slip away in his second defense.
Gutiérrez, who had not fought for a year, had had to postpone this defense due to a covid-19 infection last February.
In Saturday’s fight, Garcia landed a hard left hand to the champion’s head in the fourth round and hammered Gutierrez to the body in the fifth, setting the early pace of the bout.
The South American went from less to more and in the last round he landed a hard right hand and a solid left hook that were not enough to change the judges’ decision.
In another fight on the show in Hollywood, another undefeated Dominican fighter, Alberto Puello, beat Russia’s Batyr Akhmedov by split decision to capture the vacant WBA junior lightweight title.
Two judges awarded the victory to Puello, the first Dominican champion in the 140-pound (63.5kg) division, with a score of 117-111, and the other to Akhmedov 115-113.
"I have given the second title to the Dominican Republic"Puello celebrated. "The party has already started".
Puello, who improved to 21-0, recalled feeling insulted after Akhmedov (9-2) turned him down as a sparring partner in training camp.
"He said he couldn’t be in his camp because he didn’t have enough talent."he pointed. "I have shown it tonight".