Around the Net: Relentless Segura Chops Down Calderon

A new 108lb champion was crowned last night in Puerto Rico when Giovanni Segura toppled previously unbeaten Ivan Calderon in eight thrilling rounds.

Outclassed early on, the heavy handed Mexican brawler never stopped coming, and by the fourth round had started to find the mark with a crude, but effective body assault. Standing his ground more often than usual, Calderon responded by popping jabs, and occasionally ripping back clean hard counters.  Nothing however could dissuade Segura's steady pressure and by the sixth and seventh rounds, the ending looking inevitable.

The finish came at 1:34 of the eighth session, with Calderon taking the ten count on one knee after being dropped by a left hand to the liver.  As had been the case on several occasions during the bout, Calderon found himself with his back to the ropes, and though he tried to slip, block and counter, was unable to evade all of Segura's wild swinging blows.

Let's take a look at some of the post-fight analysis from around the net...

The Queensbury Rules - Giovanni Segura Takes Full, Proper Advantage Of Ivan Calderon's Stupidity To Give Him His First Loss

Calderon blew it, but I suppose he proved he could be exciting, if nothing else. Segura did his job. He needed to keep punching, effective or not, conventional or not, less-than-Toughman-contest-or-not, hoping that at some point it would finish Calderon's night. Job done. He's now the Man at 108 pounds. But he's lucky Calderon didn't do what he usually does, because otherwise Calderon would have won at least two of the last four rounds and still been the Man.

The Sweet Science - Segura Ends Reign Of Unbeaten Calderon

The pace for the entirety was blistering, which did not favors for the Puerto Rican. The fellow southpaw Segura (age 28; from Mexico) was in predator mode the whole way through. To start the eighth, Calderon looked weak, ready to go, and Segura made sure of it with as consistent a body attack as we've seen this year. He went down, one one knee, and gestured to his left side, and waited for the ref to count ten. Segura takes the WBO 108 pound crown, to add to his WBA version.

Boxing Scene - Fight of the Year? Segura Unifies in a Jr. Flyweight Classic

While irrelevant to the outcome, Calderon was surprisingly behind on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage with a pair of scores at 68-65 and 69-67 for Segura. BoxingScene had the bout scored 69-64 for Calderon before the fateful eighth but the competiveness of the fight showed on both men’s bruised faces.

Segura, decked out in the garb of an Aztec warrior, entered the ring with Mexican fistic royalty, escorted by current, unified Bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel and the previously mentioned Hall of Fame former World Jr. Flyweight champion Humberto "Chiquita Gonzalez. He joins Montiel as one of only six unified titlists in the sport right now and joins Gonzalez, who twice reversed his losses to Carbajal, in the sparse fraternity of men who have held two belts at 108 lbs.

Boxing Scene - Ivan Calderon: "I Couldn't Recover From The Liver Shot"

Calderon said he couldn't recover from the liver shot. He plans to return in 2011 after a good rest. "I fought a fight that was not mine but I lost to warrior. I wanted to stand a bit to fight toe to toe, but he planted a good shot to the liver and I could not recover. Segura has no style, but he has a big heart, fought like a warrior. I think I deserve another chance. I'll relax and return next year. One falls but he has to raise himself up, just like Tito Trinidad and Miguel Cotto who fell but got up," Calderon said.