Angel Acosta stops Carlos Buitrago in 12

Puerto Rican puncher Angel Acosta kept both his WBO light flyweight title and his decision-free win record intact with a TKO finish of Nicaragua’s Carlos Buitrago last night.

Acosta (18-1, 18 KO) survived some early trouble to break down Buitrago (30-4-1, 17 KO) with volume and power en route to a final-round finish, leaving “Chocorroncito” 0-4-1 in world title fights. “Tito” is now 2-0 since a rough loss to Kosei Tanaka two Mays ago.

According to The Ring, Acosta’s next challenger will likely be WBO #1 Ryuji Hara, who moved up to 108 four fights ago after an unsuccessful bid at the IBF minimumweight belt. It would be fun to see the entertaining-but-vulnerable Acosta take on Hekkie Budler if the latter elects to unify more belts.

Puerto Rico may not have a genuine star at the moment, but this latest “Tito” is at least a proper scrapper.