San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
SANTILLAN STAYS UNDEFEATED WITH TOUGH 10-ROUND VICTORY
Still undefeated.
But this was no easy late summer San Diego evening for Giovani Santillan.
The Mira Mesa native and rising welterweight contender improved to 30-0 with a 10-round unanimous decision victory (10090, 100-90, 96-94) over Mexico’s Julio Luna at Pechanga Arena.
However, the cut above Santillan’s right eye and swelling on his face after the fight confirmed that this was a real battle and at least two of those score cards may have been a bit generous.
“It was a little bit tougher than I thought,” Santillan said. “I have had some cuts before but nothing like that one. He was tough. But I was able to keep the pressure on, work my punches and do what I needed to do for the win.”
At 5-foot-11, Luna (19-1-2) enjoyed a 3-inch height advantage and a 5-inch edge in reach but the thicker and stronger Santillan countered that by aggressively pressing the action and getting inside from the very start of the fight.
Though neither fighter ever hit the canvas or even seemed to be on the verge of going down, Santillan consistently rang up points with shots to the body combined with well-timed hooks to the head and the occasional overhand right.
In the seventh, Luna drew blood with a wicked uppercut that slipped through Santillan’s raised gloves and found his eye.
A stream of blood flowed down Santillan’s cheek and he nonetheless continued to stalk forward, steadily looking to push the skinnier fighter into a corner.
After the round, Santillan’s corner worked the cut and the bleeding slowed as the two continued to trade blows in close quarters fighting through the eighth.
Neither fighter dominated the final two rounds though Santillan’s steady pressure and ability to rattle off combinations that found home clearly appealed to the three judges scoring the bout.
Santillan is ranked 12th in the WBO welterweight division and is eager for a shot at a higher-ranked foe and higher profile fight.
The undefeated record and association with famed trainer Robert Garcia Jr. (14 world champions) makes him a potentially attractive opponent but also a dangerous one.
In the main event, Emmanuel Navarette successfully defended his WBO featherweight title with liver-shot KO of Eduardo Baez in the sixth round.
Earlier, San Diego’s Austin Brooks improved to 8-0 (2 KOS) with a unanimous decision (4035) four-round victory over Oliver Galacia (5-1-1, 3 KOS) of Los Angeles in a junior lightweight (130 pounds) bout. His best punch was a nasty left hand straight that dropped Galacia in the first round.
Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, improved to 6-0 (5 KOS) with a knockout victory thanks to wicked second round body shot of Reyes Sanchez in a middleweight bout.
Usyk retains titles
Oleksandr Usyk kissed the blue-and-yellow flag of Ukraine and looked to the Saudi Arabian sky as he waited to discover if he had honored his war-torn country by retaining his world heavyweight titles.
When he heard the winning words “and still,” an emotional Usyk raised his left arm and pulled the flag over his face.
The still-undefeated Usyk had lived up to his billing as the sporting pride of Ukraine by beating Anthony Joshua in a closely fought rematch to keep his WBA, WBO and IBF belts.