Calixto vs Garcia II

Who won Calixto vs Garcia II?

Willibaldo Garcia beat Rene Calixto by split decision in their 12 round contest on Friday, May 23rd, 2025, at Gimnasio Marcelino Gonzalez, Zacatecas.

The scorecards were announced as 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 in favor of winner Willibaldo Garcia.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Super Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 115 pounds (8.2 stone or 52.2 kg).

This contest was for the IBF super flyweight championship of the world.

Garcia was defending his his IBF World Junior Bantamweight Championship for the first time. He won this belt against Rene Calixto in May 2025. He had held this belt for 1 day.

Calixto vs Garcia II stats

Rene Calixto stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 23 wins, zero losses, and 1 draw, 9 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Willibaldo Garcia made his way to the ring with a record of 22 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws, with 13 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Garcia had an advantage in power over Calixto, with a 59% knockout percentage compared to Calixto's 39%.

Rene Calixto was the younger man by 5 years, at 30 years old.

Both Rene Calixto and Willibaldo Garcia fought out of an orthodox stance.

Calixto was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 5 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2016, 10 months earlier than Garcia, whose first professional fight was in 2017. He had fought 24 fewer professional rounds, totaling 135 compared to Garcia's 159.

Rene Calixto went into the fight ranked number 9 by the WBO, and 4 by the IBF at super flyweight.

Willibaldo Garcia was ranked number 8 by the WBO, and 3 by the IBF in the 115lb division.

Calixto vs Garcia II form

Garcia had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had drawn with Rene Calixto on December 21, 2024, by split draw in their 12 round contest in their IBF World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Twin Messe Shizuoka, Japan.

Prior to that, he had defeated Carlos Bautista Sanchez on June 22, 2024, by technical knockout in the 1st round at Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Rigo Omar Martinez Hernandez on February 9, 2024, by unanimous decision in their 8 round contest at Salon Marbet Plus, Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl.

Before that, he had won against Marlon Rios Sarinana on April 22, 2023, by technical knockout in the 8th round at Chihuahua, Chihuahua.

He had been beaten by Paul Butler on June 25, 2021, by split decision in their 10 round contest at Bolton Whites Hotel (formerly De Vere Whites), Lancashire, United Kingdom.

Activity check

Garcia's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 10 months and 28 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 12 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 39 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7.8 rounds on average.

What time did Calixto vs Garcia II start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 6:00 AM UTC at Gimnasio Marcelino Gonzalez, Zacatecas, Mexico, which was 2:00 AM EST or 11:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 7:00 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Calixto vs Garcia II?

Rene Calixto was a 1/1 (+100) underdog going into the contest, while Willibaldo Garcia made his way into the ring at 4/5 (-130) with oddsmakers.