Pablo Cesar Cano is a living example that good things can happen if you don’t give up, both in his career and in his fight on Saturday.
The Mexican junior welterweight went through a stretch between 2012 and 2017 when he went 4-6 (with one no-contest). He lost to some good fighters and came up short on some close decisions. Still, the boxer-puncher seemed to be going nowhere.
Then, this past January in New York, Cano turned in one of the year’s biggest upsets when he stopped Jorge Linares in the first round. He followed that with another victory on Saturday in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, although it came with a scare courtesy of opponent Roberto Ortiz.
Cano (33-7-1, 23 knockouts) came out firing at the opening bell but it was Cano, perhaps overconfident, who went down from a big right and was hurt. However, he survived and quickly turned the tables. In second round, Ortiz went down under a barrage of hard shots and couldn’t continue.
“Ortiz was a great opponent,” Cano said. “We were aware of how strong he was and how much power he had in his shots. He caught me early, but because of my conditioning, I was able to recover well and go for the knockout.”
That makes three consecutive victories for Cano, the first time he has turned that trick since 2012. He was ranked No. 6 by one sanctioning body, meaning a title shot might not be far off if he continues to win.
Cano lost to Erik Morales in his only fight for a world title back in 2011. He lost to then-welterweight titleholder Paulie Malignaggi the following but failed to make weight, meaning he couldn’t win the belt.
In the co-main event, Ricardo Sandoval (17-1, 12 KOs) stopped Gilberto Gonzalez (15-3-1, 12 KOs) in the fifth round of a scheduled 10-round flyweight fight.