Avila Perspective, Chap. 162: Women on the Verge of a Breakout and More

The women have arrived.

No longer do they take a backseat to men on boxing cards unless they are not deserving.

Let’s be frank. Women prizefighters are savage.

Beginning on Friday, two Mexican women headline rival fight cards in Mexico. Kenia Enriquez (pictured) meets Gabriela Sanchez in Tijuana, while Erika Cruz (13-1) fights Melissa Esquivel in Puerto Vallarta. Both will be streamed by different groups.

Let’s begin with Kenia Enriquez.

Her story has been one of sadness due to the WBC refusing to order current titlist Yesenia Gomez to face Kenia Enriquez who has been the number one contender in the light flyweight division for more than four years.

There’s a simple reason: Enriquez, 28, is the best, but how long can a fighter keep training and preparing for that one day without losing a step? It’s been almost two years since her last fight.

On Friday, Enriquez (23-1, 9 KOs) defends one of those silly worthless interim titles against Sanchez (8-4) at the Auditorio Municipal in Tijuana. The fight card will be streamed by Bluemoonfight.tv

It’s free. Simply sign up and you can view the streamed fight card.

During the same time frame, Erika Cruz (13-1) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Melissa Esquivel (12-1-1) in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. DAZN will stream the fight card live.

Cruz, a skilled southpaw, toppled the long reign of Canada’s Jelena Mrdjenovich with an outstanding performance that took place last April at West Point, New York. The title fight was televised and produced an instant star.

Esquivel has been fighting mostly as a super bantamweight and moves up a division to face the featherweight champion. If you know anything about the Mexican female fighters, they do not play around. A couple of weeks ago the world witnessed a similar collision as Arely Mucino barely edged Jacky Calvo in Southern California.

Expect more savagery.

The women are on the verge of headlining major fight cards for a number of reasons: they want to perform, they are well-trained, and they cost less. That will soon change when their drawing power begins to show up. Promoters will pay more if the women draw more viewers.

Women are on the verge of breaking through all the barriers.

Las Vegas vs New York

Super bantamweights headline a fight card in Las Vegas while lightweights clash in New York City. Take your pick.

Las Vegas hosts a pair of riveting super bantamweight fights pitting WBC super bantamweight titlist Brandon Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs) against WBO titlist Stephen Fulton (19-0, 8 KOs) in a unification match at the Park Theater in Las Vegas. Showtime will televise.

“This fight is going to boil down to guts. To heart. Hard work. Conditioning. I feel like it’s going to take everything from both of us. I know we both have a lot to gain. There’s a lot at stake. We’re both in our primes. We’re ready to peak. He’s 27-years-old. I’m 24. We’re here doing it,” said Figueroa from Weslaco, Texas.

Fulton believes his prior competition makes him the favorite.

“My resume is better [than Figueroa’s] and I feel comfortable saying that. I’ve taken risks since the beginning of my career. I’ve faced undefeated fighters that no one wanted to face. I’ve taken the harder road to get to this fight,” said Fulton who hails from Philadelphia.

The same card features another dangerous super bantamweight in Raeese Aleem (18-0, 12 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Eduardo Baez (20-1-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round affair. It should be a shootout between two fighters who upset their previous foes.

In New York, unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) a native Brooklynite, meets Australia’s George Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) at Madison Square Garden Theater in Manhattan on Saturday Nov. 27. DAZN will stream the card.

This fight has taken so many twists and turns that it’s almost a joke. But Lopez is no joke and seeks to prove it. How much rust has developed may be the big question. He has not fought since beating Vasyl Lomachenko over a year ago and you can never get back time.

Kambosos has nothing to lose. He’s the unknown factor and a win over Lopez would be monstrous for the Aussie. Very few Aussies have been able to crack a dent against a pound for pound fighter like Lopez.

“It’s not my first rodeo, I’ve been in the big fights, I’ve earned this the hard way,” said Kambosos. “But we’re ready, and we’re clever, and the preparation has been great; there’s no burn-out or weight issues, nothing, no emotion, just coming here to win the fight and be a real champion.”

The lightweight champion was stymied by the Covid-19 virus and other factors. Can he resume a career that was skyrocketing to another level?

“It’s a blessing to be here but it’s time to start putting people in their place, and time that they sit down and be humble,” said Lopez. “I’ve been humbled and I am humble. There comes a point that you just have to smack these guys.”

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 5 p.m. Erika Cruz (13-1) vs Melissa Esquivel (12-1-1).

Fri. Bluemoonfight.tv 7 p.m. Kenia Enriquez (23-1) vs Gabriela Sanchez (8-4).

Fri. Estrella TV 7 p.m. Jair Valtierra (15-1) vs J.J. Clavero (29-8).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Teofimo Lopez (16-0) vs George Kambosos (19-0).

Sat. Showtime 7 p.m. Brandon Figueroa (22-0-1) vs Stephen Fulton (19-0).

Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE