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Seniesa Estrada Defeats Leonela Yudica Plus Undercard Results from Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS-Unable to face her nemesis, Seniesa Estrada took the tough test of Argentina’s bigger Leonela Yudica and scrapped past the former champion to retain the WBA and WBC minimumweight belts on Friday.
It was not easy.
“I knew coming into this fight that she was a boxer who would move away from me and not come forward much,” said Estrada. “She would leap in with rights and lefts.”
Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs) showed the nearly full crowd that despite a height and reach disadvantage, she could score against the very tough Yudica (19-2-3, 1 KO) who lost for the second time on North American shores. This time at the Palms Resort Casino.
Sitting in the audience was Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle, who holds the IBF version of the minimumweight title.
Immediately Estrada used her speed and combination punching from different angles to score. But Argentina’s Yudica used her longer reach to score with long rights and lefts. It was the pattern of the fight for all 10 rounds.
“With my different styles I was changing up,” said Estrada who added that she injured her right hand.
Yudica is a former flyweight champion and accustomed to fighter heavier and bigger opposition. It showed throughout the fight that Estrada could not seriously damage her.
Throughout the 10-rounds Yudica would connect with strong rights and left hooks. But though she connected, she would often be out-punched by Estrada. Both came in with good game plans and adapted to the changes.
“I can fight any kind of style, my style is versatile. She is a bigger fighter,” said Estrada.
Estrada looked intent on imposing her will with constant charges early in the fight. Yudica countered those charges with rights or lefts as Estrada exited. But seldom did the Argentine fighter connect with more than one punch at a time.
What impressed the judges?
“I stood toe-to-toe with her,” said Yudica a former IBF flyweight champion two divisions heavier.
Estrada worked both outside and inside. After success working inside, Yudica adapted and forced Estrada to go outside. Neither could gain a strong advantage.
Defensively Estrada was able to slip far more punches than Yudica. In a close fight the ability to avoid punches counts. It was Estrada’s one major advantage.
Neither fighter ever seemed hurt. After 10 rounds all three judges scored it 97-93 for Estrada. She retains the titles and now can face Valle who was sitting in the audience.
Both have gunning for each other for the past four years.
“I’m not afraid of you. What you want, I got. What I want, you got. You got to come through me,” said Valle to ESPN and the audience after the fight. “I am a real champion. I’ve been all over the world in Spain, Germany. I fill stadiums, not theaters.”
Estrada was simple in her retort.
“I want Yoka next,” Estrada shouted.
Other Bouts
Las Vegas fighter Andres Cortes (20-0, 11 KOs) out-battled Sacramento’s Xavier Martinez (18-2, 12 KOs) to win a close battle by technical knockout at the end of the 7th round when Martinez’s chief cornerman Robert Garcia decided to stop the fight.
“They are going to need an f***** army to stop me,” said Cortes. “His eye was messed up.”
Nahir Albright (16-2, 7 KOs) defeated former Olympian Karlos Balderas (14-2, 12 KOs) by majority decision after eight lightweight rounds in a back-and-forth affair. Albright was the busier fighter after falling behind early. Scores were 77-75 twice and 76-76 for Albright)
Puerto Rico’s Abraham Nova (23-1, 16 KOs) won a firefight by knockout over Colombia’s Jonathan “Momo” Romero (35-2, 19 KOs) a former world champion. It was ferocious.
Romero and Nova wasted no time in unleashing bombs from the first round until it ended in the third.
The former champion Romero scored early with his speedy right cross but Nova found the timing and rallied in the second round by scoring a knockdown with a right cross followed by a left hook. Romero beat the count.
In the third round Romero opened up with both barrels but Nova withstood the bombardment and hurt the Colombian fighter with a left hook. He followed up with a right hand and down went Romero for the knockout at 2:47 of the third round.
In a super lightweight match Dominican Republic’s Rohan Polanco took his time to break down Cesar Francis and scored two knockdowns in stopping the Panamanian fighter at 1:05 of the fifth round. Overhand rights did the job.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.
Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.
In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.
Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.
Semi-Wind-Up
Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.
Other Bouts of Note
In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.
In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.
Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.
A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry
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