Junior featherweight Alan David Picasso continues down a path toward contender status.

Picasso remained unbeaten Saturday night, knocking out Kevin Villanueva in the sixth round at the Centro de Convenciones Siglo XXI in Merida, Mexico. 

The 22-year-old, who resides in Mexico City, improves to 24-0-1 (13 knockouts).

Picasso was effective from the opening bell, utilizing an effective jab, repeatedly at times, to fight from a distance. Picasso was also the more accurate puncher, connecting to both the head and body of Villanueva.

Villanueva was at his best when closing the distance between the two. He was able to find some holes in Picasso’s guard and, when he did connect, Villanueva did get Picasso’s attention.  

Despite a swollen left eye, Picasso continued to outbox and break his opponent down, increasing his aggression and punch output in the fifth round to put Villanueva on the defensive. 

After Villanueva was barely able to make it out of the fifth round and to his corner, Picasso continued his onslaught, connecting more punches to the head and body. A combination finally dropped Villanueva to the canvas, and as he struggled to get up, Villanueva’s corner threw in the towel to save him from receiving more punishment. 

Picasso was coming off a fourth-round knockout win over Alexander Mejia in his previous fight on November 12.

Villanueva, who resides in Guasave, Mexico, falls to 21-4-3 (15 KOs). He had won his previous five fights since his knockout loss to fringe junior bantamweight contender Victor Sandoval in September 2020. 

In the co-feature, flyweight contender Angel Ayala, who also resides in Mexico City, defeated Luis Rodriguez by unanimous decision in a stay-busy fight. 

Scores were 78-73, 77-75 and 76-75 for Ayala, who improved to 16-0 (7 KOs). Ayala is ranked No. 4 by The Ring.

Ayala dropped Rodriguez with a right to the head in the second round. Despite being knocked down, Rodriguez was game, switching from conventional to southpaw. He found success during the final two rounds to make the fight close on the scorecards.

Rodriguez, who resides in Monterrey, Mexico, falls to 8-3 (3 KOs). 

Saturday’s card was co-promoted by Zanfer Boxing and Max Boxing. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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