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Rejuvenated Saul Juarez stops Gilberto Parra in nine

Saul Juarez. Photo courtesy of BoxingScene
Fighters Network
10
Mar

In a clash of former world title challengers, Saul Juarez broke down and stopped Gilberto Parra in nine rounds on Friday at the Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City.

It was a competitive clash between the two contenders, both of whom campaign at the junior flyweight limit.

Despite giving up five inches in height and three inches in reach to Parra, Juarez managed to get on the inside and rip counter hooks to the head and body.

Parra, who resides in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, did find some success with counter right hands in the first half of the fight, but he was unable to follow up with more telling blows.



Juarez dominated the second half. The Mexico City resident mixed up his attack and frequently found a home for left hooks to the head and body of Parra, who is ranked No. 6 by the WBO and No. 9 by the WBC.

A barrage of punches in Round 9 prompted referee Laurentino Ramirez to step in and stop the fight at 1:57. With the victory, Juarez (24-7-1, 13 knockouts) snapped a three-bout losing streak.

“I used my experience,” said Juarez after the fight. “Parra was a fighter who was not going to give up. He can take a good punch, but I was able to keep up the pressure until the fight was stopped.”

Parra drops to (26-4, 21 KOs).

Undercard

In the co-feature, junior flyweight contender Abraham Rodriguez was upset by the unheralded Alejandro Villasenor.

A cut, caused by a punch, opened over the left eye of Rodriguez early in the fight. Blood flowed freey from the wound and, following the fifth round, the ringside physician ruled that the injury was too deep for Rodriguez to continue. Villasenor (7-2, 3 KOs) was therefore declared the winner.

Rodriguez (21-1, 11 KOs) entered the bout ranked No. 9 by the IBF.

Junior middleweight Orlando Carrillo (2-0, 1 KO) won a four-round unanimous decision over Luis Franco, who was making his professional debut. Scores were 40-37, 40-37, and 39-38 in favor of Carrillo.

Junior middleweight Kevin Salgado (6-0, 4 KOs) knocked out Jose Briseno (4-2, 2 KOs) at 0:31 of the opening round.

 

Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing

 

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