LAS VEGAS—Colombia’s Cesar Canchila rallied for a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Giovani Segura on Saturday night, winning the WBA’s interim 108-pound belt on the undercard of Miguel Cotto’s welterweight bout with Antonio Margarito.
Denver’s Mike Alvarado remained unbeaten with a fourth-round knockout of Cesar Bazan at the MGM Grand Garden, and rising Filipino prospect Bernabe Concepcion also stopped Adam Carrera in the third round.
Segura (19-1-1), a Mexican who fights out of the Los Angeles suburbs, opened with two outstanding rounds in the first big fight of his career, chasing his Colombian opponent around the ring before dropping him dramatically in the second.
The knockdown only seemed to infuriate Canchila (27-1, 21 KOs), who regained his legs and gradually tilted the fight in his direction over the middle rounds before both fighters staggered to the final bell. All three judges comfortably favored Canchila, a 26-year-old boxer who had never fought outside Colombia.
Alvarado (22-0, 15 KOs), a little-known 140-pound prospect with Denver’s 303 area code tattooed prominently on his chest, bounced back capably after absorbing several big shots in the first two rounds from Bazan (48-11-1), a former champion on his career’s downslope. Alvarado finished it with 14 seconds left in the fourth, dropping Bazan in a heap with an uppercut.
Alvarado has been patiently groomed by Top Rank, but could be in for bigger paydays after an impressive performance in his toughest test to date.
“I started off slow, but I started picking it up in the third round when I found my rhythm,” Alvarado said. “Bazan’s an experienced world champion, and I felt his power in the early rounds. He stung me a little bit, but I got stronger as the rounds came. I’d like to try a top-10 contender in my next fight.”
Concepcion (26-1-1, 15 KOs), a super bantamweight trained by Manny Pacquiao guru Freddie Roach, knocked down Carrera twice in the third round, finishing him with a nasty right uppercut with 46 seconds left.
