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Little champs in huge fight
The two top junior flyweights in the world, Ivan Calderon and Giovanni Segura, meet for the WBA and WBO titles in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, on Saturday night.
In an eagerly awaited matchup, Calderon’s Ring magazine lineal championship will also be on the line.
The experts do not expect a classic slugfest. Most of Calderon’s fights are fought at a slow pace as he ducks and dodges in a classic boxing style.
The 35-year-old Calderon, from Puerto Rico, has a record of 34-0-1, with only six knockouts. The long-time WBO minimumweight champion will make the seventh defence of his WBO junior flyweight belt.
Segura, a 28-year-old Mexican who stands at 24-1-1; 20, makes the third defence of WBA junior flyweight belt.
Calderon has been showing signs of slowing down in recent fights. He was dropped once in his two tough fights against Hugo Cazares.
He was also down in his most recent fight, against Jesus Iribe, even though he won every round.
Segura is a big puncher who won his last five fights inside the distance. His only loss was against Cesar Canchila when he ran out of gas and lost on points. In a return match he stopped Canchila in the fourth round.
Segura switches from orthodox to southpaw throughout his fights. This could upset Calderon, but he should have enough experience and skills to win a close decision.
On Monday night, in Donetsk, Ukraine, Vyacheslav Senchenko (30-0; 20) makes the second defence of his WBA welterweight belt when he takes on Venezuelan Charlie Navarro (18-3; 14).
