It was a slow weekend for boxing. But the strawweight division did its part in delivering action and drama, even if no one was watching.
Byron “Gallito” Rojas pulled off a huge upset over Hekkie Budler to win the WBA strawweight world title and in Budler’s backyard of South Africa, no less.
Nicaragua’s Rojas (17-2-3, 8 KOs) earned a unanimous decision after consistently outworking Budler, the No. 1 fighter in the division since Francisco Rodriguez Jr. left for the light flyweight ranks in 2014.
Budler (29-2, 9 KOs) sports the most colorful hair in boxing and one fine resume, especially for a strawweight. Over the last four years, he got off the canvas to completely outbox Chao Zhong Xiong, China’s first world champion and he utilized his crafty head movement and high output to defeat Florante Condes, a devastating puncher, and the complex southpaw Nkosinathi Joyi.
There was a lot stacked against the twice-beaten Rojas who had never trained for a 12-round contest or even fought outside of Nicaragua.
Rojas was available as high as +2200 to defeat Budler. Boxing upset of 2016 so far. May stay at top all year. Big one.
— Fight_Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) March 19, 2016
But now he joins Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez has the country’s only beltholders.
A former minimumweight champion himself, Chocolatito’s primary sparring partner is Carlos Buitrago, a technician supreme who has fought twice now for a world title. If any Nicaraguan was going to lift 105-pound gold, it was going to be Buitrago.
Yet here is Rojas, a world champion and now the face of the strawweight class.
Así fue recibido Byron Rojas en su natal Nicaragua, luego de ganar el Título Mundial 105 libras AMB en Sudáfrica pic.twitter.com/JFQHUvVTKf
— Marcelino Castillo (@ponchitasboxeo) March 22, 2016
There was another “Gallito” in action last weekend, Oswaldo Novoa. The former champ missed his chance at a rematch with Wanheng Menayothin, the mauling WBC-recognized minimumweight titlist, after dropping a wide decision to Saul “Baby” Juarez in a rematch of their own. Their first fight didn’t even see the end of the first round after a nasty head clash.
Juarez is now the mandatory challenger to the WBC throne.
Not many were aware of these miniature displays of violence. The general boxing fan is obsessed with the heavyweights. The common narrative is that sport thrives as long as the heavies make the headlines.
Well, WBA heavyweight champion Lucas “Daddy” Browne is the news after testing positive for the banned steroid Clenbuterol.
Boxing’s maximum division continues to be a joke and relying on it to carry the sport has to change.
There are tremendous fighters of all shapes and sizes trading fists week in and week out.
It’s time to pay attention to them even if the big cable networks won’t.
