After 10 rounds of sustained action, Seniesa Estrada toppled her long-time rival Yokasta Valle to become the first undisputed minimumweight champion in women’s boxing.
Estrada unified the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles when she defeated Valle by unanimous decision at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
All three judges scored the fight 97-93 in the Californian’s favour.
Seniesa Estrada overcomes Yokasta Valle to become the undisputed minimumweight champion
Both took the centre of the ring in the opening round, but Estrada’s unorthodox style perplexed an aggressive Valle. A clash of heads in the first round caused a cut above Valle’s right eye, and Estrada had success by switching stances and punching from the outside.
An undeterred Valle stepped up the pace in round four, landing a right hook that appeared to stun Estrada.
Valle continued landing in the fifth but Estrada made adjustments. She boxed at range, landing with precision and even taunted Valle at times. The Costa Rican rallied late in the final round, but it was not enough.
Estrada said: “It’s something I’ve been wanting for a long time, becoming undisputed. It finally happened, and I accomplished my dreams. I’m beyond overwhelmed and happy.
Valle picked up a cut early in the Estrada fight
“I knew she would come in and be aggressive like she always is. That’s her style, and I knew I would take everything away from her that she does best.
“I’m very competitive, and I want to be the best. In this training camp, there were days where it was difficult for me to go to the gym. My body was hurting. My back was hurting. My hand was hurting. But I pushed through because that’s what champions do and because I want to be great.”
Valle however accused Estrada of deploying an intentional headbutt to open up the cut.
Afterwards she said: “I did feel it was intentional. I felt that she did that coming towards me in the first round, and I had to struggle through that for the last nine rounds.”
Valdez halts Wilson
Oscar Valdez seized a career lifeline when he stopped Liam Wilson in the main event, winning a WBO Interim belt at super-featherweight to keep himself on course for another world title fight.
Valdez lured the Australian into punching range. In the sixth round the pair went toe-to-toe with Valdez connecting with left hooks to the body and right hooks to the side of Wilson’s head.
Oscar Valdez takes the fight to Liam Wilson
By the following round, Valdez had worn Wilson out, who stopped responding to Valdez’ onslaught and forced referee Mark Nelson to halt the action at 2-48.
Valdez said: “This victory means a lot. I proved a lot of people wrong again. People said ‘You’re thirty-something. You’re done. You got your jaw broken. You got your rib broken.’ But I refused to believe that.
“I told [Wilson] to not give up. I lost as well. It doesn’t mean you’re done in the sport. I’m a good example. He almost got me. He almost got “Vaquero” [Emanuel Navarrete]. He almost became a world champion. I have nothing but respect for Liam Wilson and his team.”
Valdez won a WBO Interim belt when he stopped Wilson
The Australian reflected: “That’s how boxing goes. I tried to box in the first few rounds, but my heart got the better of me. These are the kind of fights I dreamed of since I was a kid. But, I’ve got to learn from this and start using my boxing brain.
“Oscar is a true champion, and I’m very proud to have shared the ring with him. It’s still early in my career. I have plenty to go. I’m young. I’ll be back.”
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