RICARDO Salas scored a third-round upset win over Roiman Villa in the PBC prelims portion of Canelo’s pay-per-view clash versus Edgar Berlanga. It was expected to be a firefight and neither man disappointed.
These two bangers needed no introduction to one another, swinging away with heavy bombs from the first bell. Taller Villa was the fight favourite, having fought at a higher level, but seemed to be slightly rocked in the opener before pushing Salas back to the ropes, attempting to assert his dominance.
Villa fancied himself as the puncher, but Salas’ diverse attack bore fruit in round three as a flash right hand suddenly caught Villa inside and sent him flat on his back. The realisation quickly dawned on both PBC commentary and the fans at ringside that Villa was about to be counted out by referee Mike Ortega.
Improving to 20-2-2 with knockout number 15, ‘Magic Man’ Salas certainly pulled a rabbit out of a hat. As for Villa, now 26-3 (24), returning after a beating at the fists of Jaron Ennis, it’ll be a tough road to recovery. His majority decision win over Rashidi Ellis in 2023 suddenly seems a long time in the past.
