by Cliff Rold

When they faced off the first time in 2001, or again in 2003, they couldn’t have known where they would be twelve years later.  Both would have lengthy runs as titlists at 108 lbs. in the 2000s without crossing paths again.  The wait was worth it, at least for one of them.

With a mandatory shot at WBC and lineal World Flyweight champion Toshiyuki Igarsahi at risk, 33-year old Edgar Sosa (48-7, 29 KO) of Mexico City, Mexico, avenged his first professional defeat and the rematch verdict as well with a one-punch second round knockout of 31-year old Ulises Solis (35-3-3, 22 KO) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, on Saturday night at the Complejo Panamericano in Solis’s hometown. 

Sosa came into the bout spot on the division limit at 112 lbs., Solis at 111.  The referee was Danny Schiavone.      

Solis began as the aggressor, stepping into a long, stiff jab.  Sosa circled to his left, showing his jab and then opening with a touching left and right upstairs.  A long counter right just missed landing flush for Sosa.  The opening frame settled into a battle to control the range, each man probing with his lead hand, until the final thirty seconds.  With veteran authority, both men let loose some stiff shots in an attempt to close the first with a statement.

In the second, it was Solis again stepping in with the long jab, looking for a big right hand behind it.  Sosa tapped Solis with lead left hook three times, never really committing but making clear he’d seen a hole.  At the minute mark, a left swept across the face of Solis and got his attention. 

Seconds later, Sosa would land another and the fight was over before it got started.  A picturesque left sent Solis down to the floor, flat on his back.  Solis managed to roll to his side but could not beat the count and Schiavone waved the bout over at 2:12 of round two.

The win is Sosa’s his fifth straight since falling short in a challenge of then-Flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in October 2011.  The loss ends an eight-fight unbeaten streak (seven wins and a disputed draw) dating to Solis’s lone other stoppage defeat versus Brian Viloria in 2009.

Japan’s Igarashi (17-1-1, 10 KO) is currently slated to defend against former Strawweight titlist Akira Yaegashi (16-3, 9 KO) on April 8.

In the televised opener, 20-year old Bantamweight and former Mexican Olympian Alejandro Gonzalez (18-0-2, 12 KO), 118, of Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, continued on his path to contention with a fourth round knockout of 29-year old Alexander Acosta (1-8-2, 6 KO), 119 ½, of Guadalajara.  The end came at 2:02 of the fourth.  The referee was Pablo Diaz.    

The card was televised in the U.S. on Unimas as part of its “Solo Boxeo” series, promoted by Top Rank.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com