Trujillo retains Power Slap title; Sanchez loses to Nwokolo

It was too much to ask.

Albuquerque’s Jose Luis “Güero” Sanchez, fighting a bigger, stronger man on three days’ notice, lost to Nigeria’s Emeka Nwokolo by 10-round unanimous decision Friday on a pro boxing card in Temecula, California.

The official scorecards read 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 for Nwokolo (16-1, 13 knockouts), who retained his NABA super welterweight title.

Sanchez (14-6-1, four KOs) had been training for an eight-round welterweight bout scheduled for Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada when he learned that Abel Ramos, his opponent, had withdrawn due to an injury.

Nwokolo, meanwhile, had seen his scheduled opponent drop out on Monday as well. Promoter Christy Martin then patched together Friday’s bout at Pechanga Resort & Casino.

The step up for Sanchez from the welterweight limit of 147 pounds to the super welterweight limit of 154 pounds appeared to be a major factor in the outcome.

Sanchez, moving and countering well, had his moments throughout the 10 rounds. But Nwokolo’s ponderous blows had gradually more effect as the bout wore on.

The mere force of the Nigerian’s punches sometimes moved Sanchez back or knocked him off balance.

Nwokolo had a big sixth round, then came close to ending it in the ninth. But Sanchez, though clearly hurt, never went down and never stopped punching back — actually winning the 10th and final round on the Journal’s unofficial scorecard.

POWER SLAPPER: In New Orleans, Raton’s Robert Trujillo successfully defended his Power Slap lightweight (155-pound) title with a third-round knockout of Canada’s Dakota McGregor.

This was a rematch. In March in Las Vegas, Nevada, Trujillo defeated McGregor by unanimous decision, becoming the Power Slap lightweight champion.

On Friday, McGregor won the coin toss and slapped first, which is a huge advantage in Power Slap. The Canadian challenger’s first blow caught Trujillo’s nose, drawing blood and prompting a brief timeout.

Trujillo’s first blow landed too high on McGregor’s head to do serious damage. But after he then took McGregor’s second blow with no apparent reaction, Trujillo’s second blow dropped McGregor to the floor.

McGregor got to his feet and continued, but his third blow again had no discernable effect.

“I’ve got the best (expletive) chin in the game,” Trujillo said afterward on the YouTube streaming of Friday’s card.

Trujillo’s third blow put McGregor down and out.

Afterward, Trujillo — who stands 5-foot-7 and has competed in MMA at 135 pounds — said he was considering a move up to Power Slap’s middleweight (170-pound) division to challenge champion Anthony Blackburn.

“Backburn’s been tearing through his division,” Trujillo said, “but I definitely think I could crack him.”