LAS VEGAS – Sulaiman Segawa had no fear in him facing a contender in a hostile setting.
Segawa was the more-effective fighter, especially in the second half of the fight, tin winning a unanimous decision over Ruben Villa on Saturday before a rowdy crowd inside The Pearl Theatre at The Palms Resort Casino.
Scores were 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94 for Segawa, who improved to 17-4-1, 6 knockouts.
Entering the fight, Villa, The Ring’s No. 10-rated featherweight, was the betting favorite. Both southpaws were very active from the opening bell. Segawa chose to stay in the pocket with Villa, which created back and forth exchanges.
Villa was effective on the inside, and when he initiated exchanges. When he created space, Segawa connected with looping left crosses to the head of Villa, at times, landing back-to-back left hands to the head.
As the fight progressed into the middle rounds, Segawa found a home for left and right uppercuts to the head. Villa began landing his share of punches, hooks and left hands to the body, in Round 6. Towards the end of the round, Villa loaded up and landed two lead right hooks to the head of Segawa.
Segawa was effective early during Round 7, landing several lead straight lefts and right hooks to the head of Villa. Undaunted, Villa retaliated, landing a series of combinations in an attempt to win the round.
Midway through Round 8, Segawa stunned Villa twice. Villa backed away to regroup, but moments later, a right to the body hurt Segawa, who had to hold on until the bell sounded to end the round.
Villa and Segawa exchanged hooks and crosses during the final two rounds. Segawa was crafty to avoid getting hit flush as Villa was the aggressor. Segawa continued to throw and land uppercuts to the head of Villa, focusing his attack to the body until the final bell sounded.
Segawa, who is originally from Kampala, Uganda and now resides in Silver Springs, Maryland, was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Mirco Cuello on March 30. The 33-year-old was unbeaten in his previous four fights since losing by knockout to Jamaine Ortiz in a lightweight bout in November 2020.
Villa, who resides in Salinas, California, falls to 22-2, 7 KOs. In his previous fight on April 13, the 27-year-old Villa defeated Christian Cruz Chacon by unanimous decision. He had won his previous four fights since losing to Emanuel Navarrete in October 2020.
Entering Saturday’s bout, Villa was ranked No. 1 by the WBC.
Junior lightweight Jonathan Lopez scored a knockout win over Leonardo Padilla in the opening round. Lopez improved to 16-0, 12 KOs.
During an exchange in a corner, Lopez unleashed a left hook to the body. Padilla’s momentum almost sent him through the ring ropes. Lopez threw and landed another punch to the body, forcing Padilla to drop to a knee. Referee Alan Huggins counted Padilla out at 1:43.
The 21-year-old Lopez, who resides in Orlando, Florida, is trained by Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Ring Magazine/undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Padilla, who resides in Caracas, Venezuela, falls to 23-6-1 1 NC, 16 KOs. Padilla was unbeaten in his previous four bouts.
Junior welterweight Charlie Sheehy of Brisbane, California defeated Oxnard’s Ricardo Quiroz (13-5, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision. Scores were 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74 for Sheehy, who goes to 10-0, 5 KOs.
Quiroz was the more-effective fighter during the first half of the fight. Sheehy found openings and connected more during the second half of the fight.
Welterweight Art Barrera, Jr. dropped Javier Mayoral (6-6-1, 1 KO) of New Orleans once in round one and once in round four en route to a one-sided decision victory. All three judges scored the bout 60-52 in favor of Barrera, who improved to 6-0, 4 KOs. The 18-year-old Barrera resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Lynwood.
Junior lightweight Albert Gonzalez of Moreno Valley, California battered game Conrado Martinez of Odessa, Texas before ending matters at 1:23 of round six. A barrage of punches forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the fight.
In junior welterweight action, Israel Mercado of Pomona, California improved to 11-1-1, 7 KOs, defeating Dondrell Haynes by unanimous decision. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54 for Mercado. Haynes, who resides in Hallettsville, Texas, falls to 8-2, 7 KOs.
In the opening bout of the Top Rank card, junior lightweight Javier Zamarron defeated 19-year-old Mikey Bracamontes (9-2-1, 5 KOs) of Santa Ana, California by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 59-55 for Zamarron, who improved to 9-0, 4 KOs.
Zamarron, Gonzalez, and Barrera are all trained by Robert Garcia.
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 santio89@yahoo.com
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