Daniel Blancas turned Sergio Jimenez into a stationary target Saturday night at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, breaking down the veteran with heavy body work before referee Thomas Taylor stepped in to halt the super middleweight bout at 1:38 of round seven. Jimenez absorbed clean punches without offering any real resistance, leaving Taylor with no choice but to wave off the scheduled 10-round contest on the Isaac Cruz vs. Nestor Bravo DAZN card.
From the opening bell, Blancas (16-0, 8 KOs) controlled the real estate. The Milwaukee fighter pumped his jab from long range, slipped away whenever Jimenez tried to close distance, and punished the 39-year-old puncher for following instead of cutting off the ring. Jimenez (17-2-1, 15 KOs) showed toughness, but durability proved to be his only asset. By the middle rounds, Blancas had taken away his legs with hard hooks to the ribs, creating openings at will until the finish in the seventh.
The opening round ended with both men trading past the bell, providing a brief flash of hostility to an otherwise disciplined boxing exhibition from Blancas. That minor scuffle did not alter the direction of the bout. Blancas went straight back to his jab in round two, steadily increasing his output to the midsection.
Jimenez came forward willingly, yet forward pressure without ring generalship meant little. He absorbed clean punches through the middle rounds without producing enough offense to make Blancas hesitate. The difference in hand speed, distance management, and lateral movement allowed Blancas to pile up points without taking serious risks.
The body punches did much of the quiet damage. The forward march of Jimenez slowed as the rounds passed, making his attacks telegraphed and easy to slip. Blancas stepped around him, reestablished his distance, and resumed punching before Jimenez recovered his balance.
After six one-sided rounds, the contest became an exercise in watching how much punishment Jimenez could endure. Blancas pressed the issue in the seventh, landing heavy combinations while Jimenez offered nothing back. Taylor saw enough, stepping between them to wave off the action.
Jimenez carried an imposing knockout percentage into the bout, but most of those early stoppages came against limited opposition. His previous defeat was a 10-round decision against Deon Nicholson in 2024. Against Blancas, he never came close to generating the firepower his paper record suggested. Blancas looked considerably longer, utilizing those natural physical edges with patience.
Trained by Jose Benavidez Sr., Blancas needed more than another safe distance victory against an opponent brought in to showcase him. He delivered the stoppage, forcing the issue until the referee intervened.
The win proved that Blancas can stay disciplined against a rugged opponent rather than abandoning his boxing technique in search of a wild finish. A step up in competition will reveal far more, because Jimenez lacked the tools to expose what lies beneath the polished exterior Blancas brings to the ring.
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