Miranda beats Mepranum to win first crown
Julio Cesar Miranda scored a fifth round knockout of Richie Mepranum Saturday night to claim the vacant WBO flyweight crown at the Centro de Convenciones in Puebla, Mexico.
The belt had previously been held by Omar Narvaez.
Miranda dropped the native of the Philippines in the fourth round and sent him to the canvas twice in the fifth before the fight was stopped. He improved to 32-5-1 in his career, during which he has fought only twice outside of his homeland.
The native of Tampico, Tamaulipas in Mexico finally won a title in his third try. He was defeated by Moruti Mthalane in Johannesburg, South Africa in November in his most recent attempt to win a championship in an IBF flyweight title bout.
Mepranum suffered just the second defeat of his career, as his record slipped to 22-2-1. He had won eight straight fights since suffering his only other defeat at the hands of Denkaosan Kaovichit in Thailand in September, 2007.
The belt had previously been held by Omar Narvaez.
Miranda dropped the native of the Philippines in the fourth round and sent him to the canvas twice in the fifth before the fight was stopped. He improved to 32-5-1 in his career, during which he has fought only twice outside of his homeland.
The native of Tampico, Tamaulipas in Mexico finally won a title in his third try. He was defeated by Moruti Mthalane in Johannesburg, South Africa in November in his most recent attempt to win a championship in an IBF flyweight title bout.
Mepranum suffered just the second defeat of his career, as his record slipped to 22-2-1. He had won eight straight fights since suffering his only other defeat at the hands of Denkaosan Kaovichit in Thailand in September, 2007.
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