Rafael Espinoza successfully defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight world title with an 11th round technical knockout over Arnold Khegai on Saturday evening at Arena Potosi in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Khegai’s corner stopped the fight following the 10th round, with the official time recorded at 10 seconds of the 11th. The Ukrainian challenger endured a brutal beating throughout the contest, absorbing punishment that left him bruised, bloodied and battered before the merciful conclusion.
Espinoza, who stands at 6 foot 1 and is the tallest featherweight champion in boxing history, became the first fighter to stop Khegai. The 10 year professional veteran had previously contended at junior featherweight and entered with a record of 23 wins, three losses and one draw with 14 knockouts.
The Mexican star, now 28 wins without defeat including 24 knockouts, dominated from the opening bell in what was mostly one-way traffic. Khegai dipped low occasionally and had limited success with overhand rights, but Espinoza remained undeterred throughout the punishment he delivered.
An accidental headbutt in the seventh round opened a cut around Khegai’s left eye, which was already showing swelling. The damage worsened as Espinoza continued landing uppercuts at distance, exploiting his significant height advantage over the challenger.
Espinoza stated after the victory that he was happy to achieve the expected result and wanted to entertain the crowd. He acknowledged he could have maintained distance all night but chose to give fans an exciting show as always. The champion noted his awareness that nobody had stopped Khegai before, recognizing the challenger as a powerful fighter while asserting his superiority.
Nearly two years after winning the title with an upset over Robeisy Ramirez, Espinoza has now tallied four title defenses, all by knockout. He indicated he still feels comfortable at featherweight but wants to see what offers emerge before making decisions about his future.
In the co-main event, Emiliano Vargas cruised past Jonathan Montrel by 10 round unanimous decision to win the WBO Latino junior welterweight title. The judges scored the fight 100 to 89 and 99 to 90 twice in favor of Vargas, son of former world champion Fernando Vargas.
Vargas improved to 16 wins without defeat including 14 knockouts after nearly ending the contest early. He hurt Montrel with multiple left hooks to the body in the first round before scoring a knockdown with a right hand. The 21 year old pressed the action but could not finish the crafty New Orleans native, who brought a record of 19 wins and four losses with 13 knockouts.
Lindolfo Delgado kept his undefeated record with a split decision over Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior welterweight world title eliminator. All three judges scored the bout 114 to 113, with two favoring the native of Linares, Mexico.
Delgado, a 2016 Olympian now 24 wins without defeat with 16 knockouts, built an early lead before Valenzuela rallied in the middle rounds. The challenger put Delgado on the canvas with a left hook in the 12th round and believed he had done enough to win, but the judges disagreed in the closely contested affair.
American heavyweight hopeful Richard Torrez Jr. defended his North American Boxing Organization (NABO) and North American Boxing Federation (NABF) titles with a first round stoppage over Czech veteran Tomas Salek. The 2021 Olympic silver medalist improved to 14 wins without defeat including 12 knockouts.
Junior lightweight prospect Julian Montalvo, a 17 year old Top Rank signee, notched a first round knockout over Nicolas Patron to improve to five wins without defeat. San Luis Potosi native Jorge Ascanio captured the NABO junior featherweight title with a 10 round split decision over Jose Amaro.
