VERONA, New York — Lorenzo Parra entered Saturday’s fight as an underdog. He hopes his performance has earned him a world-title opportunity.
The 31-year-old from Venezuela punched his way into featherweight contention at Turning Stone Casino when stopping Elijah Pierce in two rounds with a brutal combination that left the 29-year-old from Georgia stumbling about, prompting the referee Ricky Gonzalez to halt the fight immediately without a count.
Pierce had been rated second by the WBO and WBA heading into the fight. Brendan Gibbons of Manny Pacquiao Promotions says that they intend to enforce a mandatory opportunity with Mexico's WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza, becuse Parra will be rated in the top three by the organization.
“We’ll push the WBO to do the mandatory versus Espinoza,” said Gibbons. “That’s what they granted us with Elijah if we won. Why wouldn’t Parra get the title shot?"
Parra, 24-1-1 (18 KOs), scored his 10th victory in his past 11 fights since his lone defeat, and says he feels confident about his chances of pulling off another upset with Espinoza, 28-0 (24 KOs), who is also 31 years old. The Guadalajara, Mexico native has won all four of his title defenses by stoppage since defeating Robeisy Ramirez by majority decision to win the belt.
“I always knew it was gonna be a knockout,” Parra told BoxingScene. "He made it easy, and it was an easy fight for me."
“Espinoza is a great fighter. He throws a lot of punches and if I'm lucky enough to get that fight, we'll put together the right strategy so I can leave victorious that night.”
Parra entered the fight with a heavy heart as he was fighting for the first time since his father died in November. He dedicated the victory to his father, saying that he dedicated the belt to him.
“I've always had that motivation, and it's something that I wanted to do for my dad. Unfortunately, he passed away before he could see me do it. But I know he's proud of me and this title is for him,” he said.
While Parra seemed in a celebratory mood as he walked around the casino taking photos with fans, he says the real celebration was still to come when he returns home to his adopted hometown of Las Vegas.
“It's a great victory, but the celebration won’t happen here, it's in Las Vegas. I have my wife, my four kids, and they're waiting on me. And thankfully I get to come back triumphant,” Parra said.
