The top-ranked A-team struggled at Palms last night, with Raymond Muratala earning a narrow win over Tevin Farmer and Reuben Villa suffering a major upset loss to little-known Ugandan veteran Sulaiman Segawa.
Muratala (21-0, 16 KOs), competing in his first main event due to the unexpected withdrawal of Janivek Alimkhanully before Friday's weigh-in, spent the first half of the bout struggling with the techniques that had so terrified Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) in his super featherweight prime. But despite being hit by multiple hard left punches from the former champion, Muratala eventually found his footing and began to impose his will.
Farmer, who was increasingly ineffective, lost a point for holding in the eighth round and was nearly knocked unconscious by a powerful right hook in the final 90 seconds of the bout. Farmer managed to stay on his feet and wait for the final bell, but Muratala won the final three rounds on all three scorecards to win by unanimous decision.
Murata was critical of recent champion Denis Belincik, but Top Rank may want to give him one or two more bouts to apply what he learned here, while Farmer clearly still has some reserves and could be in trouble if he moves back to 130 pounds.
In the quarterfinals, Villa's (22-2, 7 KOs) dream of a rematch with Luis Alberto Lopez was dashed by a tenacious and consistent performance from Segawa (17-4-1, 6 KOs). Throughout the 10-round bout, Segawa continued to prove the more effective hitter in close combat, landing Villa with multiple powerful left punches despite Villa's sharp punches.
Particularly notable was the eighth round, in which Segawa used a straight left to unsettle Villa, before “Drac” struck back with body shots to hurt Villa.
Segawa, who was an underdog at +700 to +980 before stepping into the ring, ultimately won a well-deserved unanimous decision, by far the most impressive victory of his career, surpassing his 2019 decision win over current super bantamweight contender Elijah Pierce. Top Rank has no shortage of options for the 33-year-old Segawa's next bout: either against one of the three featherweight champions or, more likely, noted prospect Bruce Carrington.
As for Villa, it's once again started according to plan and at 27 years old he still has time to bounce back so hopefully he can pick up some form and get back on track.
