Byron Rojas: Boxing Career and Notable Fights
Byron Rojas, known as “El Gallito,” is a Nicaraguan professional boxer from Matagalpa. His defining career achievement came in 2016, when he won the WBA minimumweight championship from Hekkie Budler.
A world title in South Africa
On March 19, 2016, Rojas defeated Budler by unanimous decision at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. The World Boxing Association’s fight report confirms that Rojas took the title from the reigning champion. He had previously won the Nicaraguan minimumweight title in 2013 with a decision over Jose Aguilar.
Title reign and next challenge
Rojas’s reign lasted a little over three months. On June 29, 2016, he lost the WBA belt to interim champion Knockout CP Freshmart, who won a unanimous decision in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The WBA’s report on the bout records Freshmart’s title win. BoxRec lists Rojas as champion from March 19 through June 29, 2016.
Further career results
Rojas entered the Budler fight ranked eighth by the WBA. Budler had made five successful defenses and had gone five years without a defeat, making the challenger’s unanimous victory a substantial upset. All three judges scored the contest 115–113 for Rojas. The identical close cards distinguish the decisiveness of the official verdict from the competitive nature of the twelve rounds. His first defense against Freshmart also produced 115–113 scores, this time for the Thai challenger. The WBA’s contemporary report described repeated clinching and wrestling that interrupted clean exchanges. An accidental clash of heads in the second round contributed to a difficult fight, and referee Mark Nelson issued warnings without deducting points. Rojas therefore lost the championship on close cards rather than by stoppage. Before his world-title breakthrough, he had defended his Nicaraguan championship against Byron Castellón in August 2015. That domestic victory formed part of the route to the South African opportunity, connecting his national title with the brief WBA reign that followed.
Budler had held the championship through five successful defenses before Rojas ended his reign in South Africa.
Sources
Additional sources: https://www.wbaboxing.com/boxing-news/hekkie-budler-to-defend-wba-title
- World Boxing Association: Rojas defeats Budler for the WBA title
- World Boxing Association: Freshmart upsets Rojas
- BoxRec: Byron Rojas record and title history
