This past Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, highly touted Puerto Rican prospect, Jose “Sniper” Pedraza (13-0, 9 KO’s) made an impressive HBO Latino debut by defeating tough Mexican, Sergio Villanueva ( 25-3-2, 13 KO’s ) by scoring a 7th round TKO.
The 24 year old ambidextrous fighter was able to establish the pace of fight from the opening bell. In the middle rounds Pedraza was fighting from both stances, southpaw to conventional, confusing his opponent while landing clean shots. Pedraza’s body attack was superb throughout the entire match and in the fifth round he managed to send Villanueva to the canvas. As the body attack continued the bout was halted in the seventh round at the 2:59 mark when Pedraza dropped Villanueva twice, prompting the intervention of his corner right after Villanueva beat the 8 count.
“I was surprised with my opponent’s heart. He never backed down and was able to recover too. I kept boxing without losing focus, until we achieved the victory,” said Pedraza, who is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, Universal Promotions and DiBella Entertainment. “I want to thank God for this victory, my promoters and HBO.”
“The body work Pedraza displayed against Villanueva showed me he’s becoming a complete fighter,” said Gary Shaw. “I see him improving on his craft with each fight. His stock is rising and his talent will be seen again soon.
In 2011, Pedraza captured the WBC Youth super featherweight champion over African Herbert Quartey by way of technical knockout in the fifth round.
During his amateur boxing career, Pedraza represented Puerto Rico in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and won a gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2010. He won silver medals at the 2009 World Championships in Milan and at the 2010 Pan American Games in Ecuador, among other achievements.
