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.
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.
Garcia’s fought for the Dominican Republic in the 2016 Olympics, which had been his biggest accomplishment. That changed on Saturday.
