Jason Pagara vs. Cesar Chavez: Winner, Recap and Reaction

Jason Pagara (35-2, 22 KO) made quick work of Cesar Chavez (24-8) on Saturday night at Pinoy Pride 29 in Davao City, Philippines. Pagara scored a second-round TKO win to defend his WBO international light welterweight title, and run his current win streak to eight. Ryan Songalia of The Ring Magazine and Rappler.com and Edri Aznar of The Sun.Star Cebu have the official word and an image, respectively.

Per Songalia, it was apparent early that this bout would be over not long after it began.

The young Filipino dropped the overmatched Chavez twice in the first round with body shots. In the second frame, he didn't let up. Pagara came out on the attack and continued the assault he began in the first frame. The referee was forced to call a halt to the bout as Chavez was unable to defend himself.

The Pinoy Pride series pits Filipino fighters against competitors from around the globe. Per Asian Fight Scene, the home country's fighters swept the evenings bouts on Saturday. Pagara's win capped off an event that undoubtedly sent the fans home happy.

In addition to the eight consecutive wins, Pagara has also stopped his last three opponents. The 26-year-old appears to be ready to step up his game and take on more notable competition. Prior to the bout with Chavez, Pagara spoke about bouts he'd like to have in the future.

Per Milan Ordonez of ABS-CBN in the Philippines, Pagara said:

"I am looking forward to fighting at the bigger stage. Facing the likes of David Diaz, and Chris Algieri, it motivates me. Danny "Swift" Garcia is also a good fight for me because he fights toe-to-toe from the opening bell to the closing rounds."

Boxing writer Josef T. Ramos seems excited about the prospects of seeing Pagara take on Algieri.

Stylistically, it's an interesting battle. However, it may not make much sense from a business standpoint for Algieri. He needs a win after being blown away by Manny Pacquiao in his last bout. Taking on the young, up-and-coming Pagara might not be the fight he's looking for. Quite honestly, Algieri is the one with the most to lose in that bout.

Most of the mainstream boxing community hasn't yet heard of Pagara. Algieri grabbed a measure of fame when he upset Ruslan Provodnikov and during the hype and bout for his fight with Pacquiao. If he wants to remain relevant, he probably needs to face and defeat another known fighter. Ahould he lose to Pagara, his career would be in trouble.

A fight with Garcia might be more realistic. Obviously, Garcia has to beat Lamont Peterson on April 11 as part of The Premier Boxing Champions second NBC card. Should he win, Swift might be looking for a bout against a lesser-known opponent after the challenge from Peterson.

The only catch to this bout is that Garcia seems to be moving away from 140 pounds. The bout with Peterson will be fought at a 143-pound catchweight. If all of Pagara's targets are unavailable, he may have to go to less notable alternatives.

Whatever the case may be, he's situating himself as a name many won't be able to ignore for long.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.