Sulaiman Segawa displayed resilience and tactical prowess as he secured a unanimous decision victory over Ruben Villa on Saturday night at The Pearl Theatre in The Palms Resort Casino.
The judges scored the fight 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94 in favor of Segawa, who improved his record to 17-4-1 with 6 knockouts.
Facing a formidable opponent in a hostile environment, Segawa proved to be the more effective fighter, particularly in the latter half of the bout.
Villa, who entered the fight as The Ring’s No. 10-rated featherweight and the betting favorite, was highly active from the start.
Both southpaws engaged in numerous exchanges, with Segawa opting to stay close to Villa, leading to a series of back-and-forth actions.
Villa was effective on the inside and during exchanges. However, Segawa found success with looping left crosses to Villa’s head, often landing consecutive left hands.
As the fight progressed into the middle rounds, Segawa effectively used left and right uppercuts to Villa’s head. Villa responded with his own punches, landing hooks and left hands to the body in Round 6, and finishing the round with two lead right hooks to Segawa’s head.
In Round 7, Segawa landed several lead straight lefts and right hooks to Villa’s head, countering Villa’s combinations. Midway through Round 8, Segawa stunned Villa twice, though Villa managed to hurt Segawa with a right to the body, forcing Segawa to hold on until the round ended.
During the final two rounds, both fighters exchanged hooks and crosses. Segawa skillfully avoided getting hit cleanly as Villa became more aggressive. Segawa continued to land uppercuts to Villa’s head and focused his attacks on the body until the final bell.
Originally from Kampala, Uganda, Segawa now resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. He was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Mirco Cuello on March 30. The 33-year-old had been unbeaten in his previous four fights since losing by knockout to Jamaine Ortiz in November 2020.
Villa, from Salinas, California, now holds a record of 22-2 with 7 KOs. In his last fight on April 13, the 27-year-old Villa defeated Christian Cruz Chacon by unanimous decision.
He had won his previous four fights since losing to Emanuel Navarrete in October 2020. Villa entered Saturday’s bout ranked No. 1 by the WBC.
