Star In The Making

Estrada will need tougher tests than this to shine brightly, writes Jack Hirsch

- Jack Hirsch

SOMETIMES the most minor of details can be revealing. At the press conference in New York, to announce Gennady Golovkin’s fight with Sergiy Derevyanchenko at Madison Square Garden, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn took the microphone to speak of DAZN’s future boxing programming. He then shortlisted the most prominent fighters the streaming outlet has plans for. Among those Hearn named was WBC super-flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada. Although Estrada, 29, is not yet the big name like others mentioned by Hearn, the expectation is that he will someday get there. And Estrada did nothing to dissuade that thought a few days later when he successfully defended his title by stopping North Carolina’s Dewayne Beamon at 51 seconds of the ninth round.

This was a homecoming fight for the champion from Sonora, but the environment did not intimidate the American – his last six contests took place in Mexico.

Beamon, 33, entered the ring confidently. His histrionics during the fight were of a fighter who felt he would win but the reality would be the opposite. Fast, pesky and determined he might have been, but he was lacking in technical ability. Estrada was simply too much of a polished professional to ever be seriously challenged.

After a close opening session, Beamon’s dream started to evaporate when he suffered a pair of flash knockdowns in the second. Although Beamon argued they were slips, punches did land. From that point on it was a furious game of catch up for him.