ALBERT Pagara failed to sustain a fiery start and suffered the first loss of his pro career - an eighth round stoppage at the hands of gutsy Cesar Juarez on Saturday night (Sunday, Manila time) in the main event of Pinoy Pride 37 in San Francisco, California.
The 22-year-old Filipino found himself in a war with Juarez, who relentlessly put the pressure on Pagara for most of the 12-round bout at the San Mateo Events Center after surviving a fiirst-round knockdown.
He eventually caught up with the young pride of ALA boxing stable who looked spent when the decisive round came. Juarez jumped on the tiring Filipino by unleashing a barrage of punches that finally sent Pagara reeling to the canvas.
The disappointing loss put a stop to Pagara’s unbeaten record, which now stands at 26-1 with 18 KOs.
Juarez, who lost to Nonito Donaire via unanimous decision in their World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-bantamweight title match last year, improved to 18-5, 14 of them by KOs.
Pagara was later taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure.
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