Tomas Villa vs. Rogers Mtagwa
Tomas Villa 124 lbs lost to Rogers Mtagwa 121 lbs by KO at 1:20 in round 10 of 10
- Date: 2008-11-07
- Location: Casino Del Sol, Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Referee: Rocky Burke
- Judge: Lorenzo Saiz
- Judge: Esther Lopez
- Judge: Joel Perez
In a toe-to-toe featherweight ten round war fought in center ring which turned out to be one of the best-fought bouts of 2008, featherweights Rogers 'The Tiger' Mtagwa and Tomas 'El Norteño' Villa went at it in a televised bout from the Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. It was give-and-take fight from the opening bell. Villa, a Mexican now fighting out of Midland, Texas (20-6-4 with 13 kayos), entered riding a 12 bout unbeaten streak over the past three and a half years. Mtagwa, a Tanzanian fighting out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (25-12-2 with 18 kayos), matched his opponent blow-for-blow in nonstop action. Jabs and power punches came nonstop from both participants in brutal offensive bursts for the entire bout, and it was evident to anyone watching this bout that 'someone' was going to go. The pace was furious. The action reached its climax in round nine when Villa, determined to win, threw everything he had left in the tank at Mtagwa and tried to finish him. Mtagwa took quite a beating trying to counter, but was hit with many power punches and was finally decked. Mtagwa appeared down and out, but somehow beat the count and survived the round although it was very ugly. Villa came out in round ten looking for 'the kill' but it was not to be. Mtagwa, sensing the end, now threw everything he had left ferociously at center ring at Villa, surprising Villa by coming back from such a brutal beating. In an exciting ending, Mtagwa traded power punches with Villa, decking him once, twice, and a third time for good at 1:20. Highlights of the last two rounds of this bout continued to be replayed, solidifying Mtagwa's world ranking, and eventually helping to earn him a shot at 26-0 WBO Super Bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez at Madison Square Garden in New York City.