Mexican champion Oscar Valdez and Filipino challenger Genesis Servania traded knockdowns in a slambang showdown yesterday but the World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title didn’t change hands in Tucson, Arizona.
Valdez scored a 12-round unanimous decision win over the game and gutsy Servania, who floored him with a sweeping right in the fourth frame.
Stung by his trip to the deck, Valdez landed a left hook that sent Servania down in the fifth canto as it paved the way for a resounding ending to the fantastic fight whose 116-110, 119-111 and 117-109 tally didn’t reflect how competitive the challenger was.
The win over Servania, Valdez’s third defense of the WBO 126-lb crown, improved his record to 23-0 with 19 KOs while the defeat was Servania’s first in 30 fights.
Both fighters embraced when the final bell sounded just seconds after they went toe-to-toe that had the crowd roaring in delight.