Night Of Upsets Concluded With Hector Garcia Dominating Colbert

On the heels of little known Fernando Martinez stunning long time IBF Super Flyweight champ Jerwin Ancajas on the undercard, unbeaten, but lightly regarded, late replacement,  Jr. Lightweight Hector Garcia followed that up Saturday night with a main event upset of his own.

The unbeaten Dominican Garcia dropped and outfought previously unbeaten Chris Colbert out of New York in a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision to become the WBA’s top contender at 130 lb. And, it will put him in line for a title shot with “regular” champion Roger Gutierrez.

No Excuses 😤

Hector Garcia steps in last minute and upsets Colbert with a UD win.#ColbertGarcia pic.twitter.com/UE3NU5RoJO

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 27, 2022

The 30 year old Garcia, who took the fight just over two weeks earlier when Gutierrez tested positive for Covid 19, used hard fast combinations and repeatedly backed the flashy Colbert around the ring with his punching power and aggressiveness.

Garcia, now 15-0, 10 KOs, was further empowered when he knocked Colbert down with a hard counter, left hook right on the jaw with just over a minute remaining in round 7. The previously untouched Colbert, now 16-1, took the mandatory 8 count and survived the round, but was also obviously way behind on the cards.

And, Garcia chose not to sit back but rather pressure and constantly put combos together on Colbert as the fight went into the final rounds. He particularly scored 4-5 punch salvos at a time in the 11th round that sealed the easy win.

The bout was the main event for Showtime from the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip.

“When I was told three weeks ago that I was gonna take this fight, I saw in my eyes that my life was gonna change,” Garcia told Showtime through a translator.

“So, I needed to come in my best shape. I told them that I have power in both of my arms. And that was the key. I came back with that power shot and knocked him down (in the 7th)…  I knew I had him. 

I’ve worked too hard to get into this position. I want Gutierrez next.”

That could very well happy for the former amateur star of the Dominican Republic, who won over 300 bouts before turning pro.

As for Colbert, he’s back to the drawing board and probably regretting not having simply rescheduled the Gutierrez main event for later in the Spring, but rather taking on the little known Garcia.

As mentioned, the main event stunner was set into motion by the first Showtime Boxing bout of the triple header. That’s when Martinez of Argentina, who was virtual unknown, defeated the champ Ancajas, who was making his 10th world title defense. Martinez out-slugged the Filipino landing over 400 power punches at a 4-1 rate to win a unanimous decision easily.

Saturday was another reminder, twice, that you simply never known what’s gonna happen when the first bell rings.