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MINA GETS A LITTLE SCARE BEFORE
EASING TO VICTORY AT HOME
Tuesday 8 October 2002
Fighting in front of a parochial home crowd at Lima's Acho Stadium Olympic Light-Heavyweight Champion Mauro Mina maintained his perfect career start with a unanimous decision victory over Uruguay's Mario Alberto Sosa (58-56 on all three cards). As was the case in his debut last month the Peruvian didn't have it all his own way, Sosa winning rounds two and three in convincing fashion to take a one-point lead into the bottom half of the contest. Once there Mina took control, hurting Sosa with a hard left hook in the 4th and having little trouble keeping him at bay with that fantastic jab in the final two frames.
A number of Olympic medallists have already tripped up through these first weeks of IBL competition but Mina has been able to avoid that situation. While there are a couple of skilled fighters in his group none of them appear capable enough to spring an upset, although it wouldn't really surprise if he's unable to get through these regional qualifiers unscathed.
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In the Co-Feature Venezuela's Fulgencio Obelmejias rebounded from an unexpected debut defeat to score a 3rd round KO of the Argentinian Jorge Ahumada. It was a single right cross that turned Ahumada's lights out after Obelmejias had controlled the opening two rounds. The Argentine was counted out 1:02 into the 3rd.
Earlier Mina's compatriot Francisco Avelino ran his mark to 2-0 with a unanimous decision win over Uruguay's Dogomar Martinez while Argentina's Victor Galindez also stayed perfect with a 6th round TKO of Brazil's Jose Cacciatore, the man who had upset Obelmejias last month.
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