Hector Garcia defeats Roger Gutierrez by unanimous decision to win 130-pound title
Hector Garcia has come a long way in two fights.
Six months ago, before he upset rising star Chris Colbert, the 30-year-old Dominican was a relative unknown. Now, after taking Roger Gutierrez’s WBA 130-pound title by a unanimous decision on the Omar Figueroa Jr.-Sergey Lipinets card Saturday in Hollywood, Florida, he’s a major figure in the sport.
The official scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111. Boxing Junkie scored it 116-112 for Garcia, eight rounds to four.
“It means a lot to me to win this title,” Garcia said. “I dedicate it to my people, the entire Dominican Republic and my town, San Juan de la Maguana. In the pros, nobody knew me. But in the amateurs, people knew my name. I went to the Olympics; it was my dream. I had a good run.”
Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs) dominated the first eight-plus rounds of the bout, fighting behind his jab and outworking a strangely inactive Gutierrez (26-4-1, 20 KOs).
Gutierrez, making his second title defense, picked up his pace in the ninth round in an effort to get back into the fight, which made the final rounds entertaining.
However, he stepped on the gas too late. All three judges gave the first nine rounds to Garcia, meaning Gutierrez would’ve had to score multiple knockdowns or a knockout to win the fight.
“[Gutierrez] was looking for the right punch to take me down, but I was able to dominate, dictate the pace of the fight and get the win,” Garcia said.
Garcia’s fought for the Dominican Republic in the 2016 Olympics, which had been his biggest accomplishment. That changed on Saturday.
