Luis Alberto Lopez Defeats Michael Conlan in Convincing Fashion to Retain IBF Featherweight Title

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Alberto Lopez is keeping his title…

For the second time in six months, the 29-year-old Mexican professional boxer has retained his IBF featherweight belt.

Lopez stopped Michael Conlan in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday with a thunderous right uppercut in the fifth round that put the Irish challenger on his back and prompted his corner to throw the towel to stop the bout before the referee could administer a 10-count.

“I wanted to come to Belfast so I can prove that I am a true champion,” Lopez said through an interpreter in a postfight interview with BT Sport.

Conlan was down for a couple of minutes following the stoppage and received oxygen from the medical staff before he eventually sat up and returned to his corner. He stood in the middle of the ring and applauded Lopez as the result was announced inside the ring.

Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) was making his first title defense of the IBF featherweight belt. Last December, Lopez fought Josh Warrington in Warrington’s hometown of Leeds, England, and picked up a majority decision.

The scorecards weren’t necessary on Saturday.

After Conlan used his southpaw jab and body work to keep Lopez at a distance, the tide shifted in the third round. Lopez caught Conlan with a right uppercut, the first punch in a flurry that appeared to hurt Conlan (18-2, 9 KOs), who retreated to the ropes and was able to survive the round.

But for the rest of the fight, Lopez was in command. Adam Booth, Conlan’s trainer, expressed concern over Conlan’s body language after the fourth round, in which Conlan was looking to tie up Lopez.

Conlan was unable to get back into the fight before Lopez landed the massive knockout.

“I’m more powerful than him,” Lopez told BT Sport. “I’m stronger than him and had speed and great footwork.”

It was Conlan’s second attempt at a featherweight title. Last March, Leigh Wood stopped Conlan in the 12th round to retain the WBA belt.

Conlan defeated Miguel Marriaga, a journeyman contender, in August, to rebuild momentum following the loss to Wood.

Lopez was seen limping in the ring following the victory, and he told BT Sport that he was dealing with a leg issue in the locker room. However, the ailment didn’t stop him from keeping his spot as one of the world’s top featherweights.

Seniesa Estrada to Return to Boxing Ring in July

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Seniesa Estrada is months away from her highly anticipated return…

The 30-year-old Mexican American WBA and WBC strawweight champion will make her return to the ring on July 22, according to ESPN.

It will be Estrada’s second fight of 2023.

The opponent and location for the fight have yet to be determined.

Estrada last fought in March, when she beat Tina Rupprecht by unanimous decision to become the unified champion at strawweight. It was Estrada’s second defense of her WBA title.

Undefeated Estrada (24-0, 9 KOs) is ESPN‘s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter and top-rated strawweight. She has held titles at strawweight and junior flyweight in her career and the interim world title at flyweight.

She said after her win over Rupprecht that she would like to become undisputed at strawweight, where she currently holds two belts. Yokasta Valle is the IBF and WBO strawweight champion.

“I want to tell the other champion at 105 pounds that I’m whupping you next,” Estrada said in March. “You can get it next. I am the best in this division, and I know it. I want to prove it by being undisputed.”

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez Claims WBO’s Vacant Flyweight Title Despite Jaw Injury vs. Cristian Gonzalez

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has secured a new division title…

The 23-year-old Mexican American boxer, who moved down to flyweight, secured the WBO‘s vacant 112-pound championship with a unanimous-decision win over Cristian Gonzalez (118-110, 117-111, 116-112) at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio.

But when Rodriguez spoke in his post-fight interview, it was immediately clear that not all went right for the promising boxer in another hometown victory. Rodriguez said he battled through a broken jaw against a very feisty opponent to add to his growing list of accolades.

Rodriguez became a two-division world champion, following up a year in which he won the WBC‘s junior bantamweight title. But despite the feat, he said he wasn’t pleased with his showing.

“It wasn’t the best performance,” Rodriguez said in a brief postfight interview with DAZN. “I’ will admit that.”

Rodriguez (18-0, 11 KOs) was bleeding from his mouth by the end of the fight and said he could barely speak after he suffered the injury against Gonzalez (15-2, 5 KOs), who was a heavy underdog entering the fight.

“I guess I got caught with my mouth open,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the injury likely occurred sometime around the sixth round. It came during a stretch when Rodriguez was controlling the action in the ring, peppering Gonzalez with a barrage of body shots that opened up power punches to the head.

But as the fight continued, Gonzalez regained some of the form he showed early in the fight, sticking Rodriguez with straight punches from the outside while he constantly moved around the ring.

Rodriguez’s injury complicated what was expected to be a showcase performance for someone who had knockout wins over Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2022, with both of those performances coming in San Antonio.

It also makes things a bit tricky for Rodriguez’s long-term outlook.

Saturday night marked his first fight in the flyweight division. Before the fight, Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn pointed out that with a Rodriguez victory, three of the four champions in the 112-pound weight class would be promoted by Matchroom. And with the matchmaking relatively simple, Hearn was eyeing a potential undisputed championship fight.

“We want to wrap up these belts with one champion,” Hearn told DAZN.

Hearn said he wanted Rodriguez to face Sunny Edwards, the IBF champion based out of London. Rodriguez confirmed those plans after his win against Gonzalez.

“That’s the only option,” Rodriguez said.

However, that option might have to wait. After Saturday’s fight, Hearn told DAZN that with Rodriguez’s broken jaw and the recovery timeline, Edwards might need an interim bout before a potential showdown with the newest flyweight champion.

“It’s just about timing now,” Hearn said. “Obviously, with that injury, if that jaw is broken, that’s going to keep him out probably the back end of the year. Sunny needs to fight.”

Seniesa Estrada Defeats Tina Rupprecht to Become Unified Strawweight Champion

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Seniesa Estrada is a unified champion…

The 30-year-old Mexican American boxer defeated Tina Rupprecht by unanimous decision — 100-90 on all three cards – on Saturday night to become a unified champion at strawweight.

In addition to retaining her WBA championship, Estrada claimed Rupprecht’s WBC title.

It was a dominant performance from Estrada, ESPN‘s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter. She rarely let Rupprecht get comfortable and other than a couple of strong punches landed on Estrada’s face in the first three rounds of the fight, it was a clinical performance from the East Los Angeles native.

Walking out in her traditional cape — pink, this time — and to Alicia Keys‘ “Girl on Fire,” Estrada’s usual high-paced output began from the start and continued throughout. She landed at least 20% of her punches in all but one round and over 30% of her power punches in seven of 10 rounds.

Estrada (24-0, 9 KO) focused a lot on the body — 57% of her landed punches were body punches — and her 67 body punches landed were more than the 63 punches Rupprecht landed throughout the entire fight.

She almost doubled up Rupprecht (12-1-1, 3 KO) in punches landed (118-63) despite throwing a somewhat similar number of total punches (473-414). Rupprecht landed 10 or more punches in a round just once — the seventh round, when it was clear Estrada was in control and headed toward unifying the WBA and WBC belts.

The way Estrada moved her hands — constant, and not just at Rupprecht, but in unconventional movement all over the place to keep the angle and levels of her punches unpredictable, was unique. It helped open up windows for her to land body shots and combinations on Rupprecht, who suffered the first loss of her career.

“By taking away her right hand,” Estrada said in the postfight in-ring interview, “I took away her only weapon.”

Estrada said she wanted to focus on the jab in the fight, in part because of Rupprecht’s height at 4-foot-10, and she threw 178 jabs, landing 16 of them. She said she combined that with her power to put herself in the position to dominate the fight.

After the fight, Estrada made clear what she’d like next — Yokasta Valle retained her IBF and WBO strawweight titles in a unanimous decision win over Jessica Basulto in Costa Rica on Saturday night as well. Rupprecht and Valle fought in 2018 — with Rupprecht winning a unanimous decision in her native Germany.

“I want to tell the other champion at 105 pounds that I’m whooping you next,” Estrada said in the ring after the fight. “You can get it next. I am the best in this division, and I know it. I want to prove it by being undisputed.”

Luis Alberto Lopez to Defend IBF Featherweight Title Against Michael Conlan

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Alberto Lopez is going on the defensive…

The 29-year-old Mexican professional boxer will defend his IBF featherweight title against Michael Conlan on May 27 in the challenger’s native Belfast, Northern Ireland, after the fighters struck a deal, according to ESPN.

The 126-pound title fight, which shapes up as a slugfest, will be streamed stateside on ESPN+ in the afternoon.

Conlan (18-1, 9 KOs), 31, suffered his lone professional defeat against Leigh Wood in ESPN‘s 2022 Fight of the Year. Conlan floored Wood in the opening round and was ahead on all three scorecards when Wood sent him through the ropes for a 12th-round TKO victory, which was also named ESPN‘s KO of the Year.

Conlan, an Olympic silver medalist, rebounded with two victories later in the year. He dropped Miguel Marriaga three times in an August decision victory before he flattened Karim Guerfi in one round in December.

Lopez (27-2, 15 KOs) will be making the first defense of the title he wrested from Josh Warrington in December. He was in his opponent’s backyard, Leeds, England, but did enough to eke out the majority decision in a grueling fight.

Now, Lopez will travel to enemy territory once more. He has won 10 consecutive fights since a 2019 decision setback against Ruben Villa.

Lopez and Conlan are promoted by Top Rank. Lopez is ESPN’s No. 3 featherweight while Conlan is ranked No. 9.

Mauricio Lara Defeats Leigh Wood to Win WBA World Featherweight Title

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Mauricio Lara is a world champion…

The 24-year-old Mexican professional boxer demonstrated his clinical finishing-punch power by stopping Leigh Wood in the seventh round to win the WBA world featherweight title in England on Saturday.

Lara silenced Wood’s hometown fans at the Nottingham Arena when he floored the champion with a crunching left hook, and when Wood got to his feet, the English boxer’s trainer, Ben Davison, threw in the towel to stop the fight.

Wood had established control in an exciting fight at the time of the stoppage, before Lara’s stunning finish, and was unhappy with Davison’s decision to pull him out of the fight.

“I feel very happy for this championship. It’s what I’ve dreamed of since I was 8 years old,” Lara said. “I definitely felt Leigh’s punches, but they didn’t hurt me. He hits hard and is a good champion.”

The victory opens up the possibility of a title unification fight for Lara against one of the other world champions at 126 pounds — Rey Vargas (WBC) and Luis Alberto Lopez (IBF) — who are also both from Mexico.

But a rematch with Wood seems the more likely next move for Lara, ESPN‘s No. 1-ranked featherweight.

“I want the trilogy fight [with Josh Warrington] and, of course, I want more belts — it’s up to [promoter] Eddie Hearn to make it,” Lara said.

England is a happy hunting ground for Lara, who announced himself on the big stage when he stopped Warrington — the No. 1 featherweight in the world at the time — in the ninth round two years ago.

A rematch ended in frustration, when Lara suffered a nasty cut above his left eye in the second round, caused by a clash of heads, and the fight ended in a technical draw.

But Lara (26-2-1, 19 KOs), 24, known as “Bronco” and from Mexico City, produced two third-round knockouts last year and continued that lethal form to win his first world title, as a heartbroken Wood lost the belt in a second title defense.

Wood (26-4, 16 KOs), 34, had produced two dramatic, last-round knockouts in his previous two fights, against Xu Can to win the belt in July 2021 and then against Michael Conlan — in ESPN’s fight of the year — almost a year ago.

This time Wood was on the receiving end, but he seemed unhappy with the decision of his trainer to stop the fight.

“I’m a fighter — I’m not going to say anything more,” Wood said.

“I made a mistake and I paid for it. Absolutely I want the rematch.”

Wood suffered a setback early on when he was cut near his left eye, caused by a clash of heads in the opening round.

However, Wood started the second round full of fire, landing heavy shots, including a thudding left hook.

But Lara finished the second on top, after he shook Wood with a right to the temple and then had the champion in trouble in the final few seconds of the round.

An excellent encounter swung back in favor of the champion in the third round, with Wood continually threading his right hand through Lara’s guard.

Both landed big left hooks in the fourth, but Wood was more accurate — especially with his right hand — in the fifth round.

Wood, who has transformed his fortunes late in his career, controlled the sixth round as Lara looked subdued and missed with his punches.

Wood had the momentum, but when both went to throw left hooks at the same time, it was Lara’s that landed with such destruction in the seventh round.

Wood was left flat on his back for a count, and when he got to his feet, he was on legs of jelly, prompting Wood’s trainer to throw in the towel with just six seconds left in the round.

Wood was left in tears by Davison’s intervention.

Amanda Serrano to Fight Katie Taylor in Highly Anticipated Rematch

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Amanda Serrano isn’t resting on her laurels…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, who defeated Erika Cruz on Saturday in an undisputed featherweight title fight, will fight Katie Taylor on May 20.

It’s a rematch of their epic fight last April at Madison Square Garden.

Taylor won that bout by split decision to defend her undisputed lightweight title.

The rematch will take place in Dublin, Ireland, where the two will once again fight for Taylor’s lightweight belts. The location has not been announced, but 82,000-seat Croke Park and 13,000-seat 3Arena have been mentioned as possibilities.

After Serrano beat Cruz by unanimous decision on Saturday night, Taylor joined her in the ring to announce the fight.

“This is more than a dream come true — my debut in Ireland against Amanda Serrano, ‘The Real Deal’ Amanda Serrano,” Taylor said. “This is incredible and as I said, the last fight was epic, and I expect nothing less for the next one.”

Serrano’s trainer, Jordan Maldonado, said a rematch against Taylor in Ireland was something that was always part of the discussions — it had even been brought up as early as the post-fight news conference following Taylor-Serrano I — and Maldonado said the only way they wanted to do the rematch was if it was in Ireland.

They said they understood the importance of that to Taylor.

“She fought us here in New York. We’re Puerto Rican, but this is basically our home,” Maldonado said. “One of the things that I had said is the only way I would take the Katie Taylor fight is if it is in Ireland.

“She deserves it.”

Serrano, who has won titles in seven divisions, told ESPN in December and January that the only fight she would move up in weight for would be a rematch against Taylor.

“A lot of people want to see the fight, and I think it solidifies women’s boxing,” Serrano told ESPN in December. “I think it puts the exclamation point and it shows that we’re here and we’re going to continue to take on challenges.”

The first Serrano-Taylor fight was a flashpoint for women’s boxing. The first women boxers to headline at Madison Square Garden, Taylor and Serrano sold out one of the most iconic arenas in the sport. They put on a close, competitive fight that won Fight of the Year from multiple publications and Moment of the Year from many others.

The bout helped continue to elevate the careers of Taylor, 36, and Serrano, two of the three best pound-for-pound fighters in the world along with undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields.

“It hit me the next day when I realized the people that tuned in to watch the fight, this was not only boxing fans, it was celebrities outside of boxing that knew who we were, what we were doing,” Serrano said. “Making history. It was just altogether, the week leading up to the fight, the promotion, how Madison Square Garden was promoting the fight, it was just so amazing.”

Since fighting Serrano, Taylor (22-0, 6 KO) beat Karen Carabajal in October. Serrano (44-2-1, 30 KO) beat Sarah Mahfoud in September to win the IBF featherweight title, and Saturday’s win over Cruz made her the undisputed featherweight champion.

Maldonado and Serrano said they’ll begin a true fight camp for Taylor in the middle of March and do some light training until then.

Jessica Nery Plata Defeats Kim Clavel to Unify WBA/WBC Junior Flyweight Titles

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jessica Nery Plata is a unified champion…

In the first major women’s bout of the new year, the 28-year-old Mexican professional boxer – who entered Friday’s fight as the WBA junior flyweight champion – is the unified champion after beating WBC titleholder Kim Clavel by unanimous decision.

Two judges scored it 97-93 and a third had it 96-94 after a fast-paced fight that had urgency in all 10 rounds.

Nery Plata (29-2, 3 KO) showed early on in Place Bell in Laval, Canada, that she would be willing to stand in and trade punches with Clavel. And it was her punches that did the most damage throughout the fight.

Nery Plata forced bleeding from Clavel’s nose in the fifth round and continued to reopen the bleeding on Clavel’s face throughout the latter half of the fight. Clavel’s face was swollen by the end of the fight. Nery Plata landed the more effective body shots as well.

Clavel (16-1, 3 KO) kept almost every round close, but Nery Plata seemed to often close each round with the stronger and more effective combinations, particularly using her right jab to set up everything else she was attempting to throw.

Nery Plata consistently caused more issues, including in the final round, when it looked like Nery Plata might have stunned Clavel as the two were exchanging punches in the center of the ring.

It was the eighth straight win for Nery Plata and first defense of the WBA title she won in March 2022, when she defeated Yesica Yolanda Bopp in Panama. It’s also the second straight fight Nery Plata has fought outside of her native Mexico, where she fought the first 29 fights of her professional career.

Nery Plata is the only current titleholder in the division; the WBO and IBF titles won by Yokasta Valle in November when she beat Evelin Bermudez have been vacated.

It was the first professional loss for Clavel, 32, who was making the first defense of her WBC title she won by defeating Yesenia Gomez last July.

Seniesa Estrada to Fight Tina Rupprecht in March

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Seniesa Estrada is headed back to the ring…

The 30-year-old Mexican American professional boxer and WBA strawweight champion will make her first appearance of 2023 when she fights in a unification bout against WBC champion Tina Rupprecht, according to ESPN.

The fight is expected to take place in the United States with a targeted date of March 25 as a co-feature fight, according to ESPN.

It will be Estrada’s second fight for promoter Top Rank after splitting with Golden Boy Promotions last year. She last fought in November — after an 11-month layoff — beating Jazmin Gala Villarino by unanimous decision.

Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs) will be making the third defense of her WBA strawweight title, which she won by defeating Anabel Ortiz in March 2021. Estrada, ESPN’s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter and No. 1 strawweight, has also held the WBO junior flyweight title and the WBA interim flyweight title.

Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs) defeated Rocio Gaspar by unanimous decision on December 10. She has held the WBC title since 2018, and before that, the interim WBC crown. This will be the fifth defense of her non-interim world title.

Rupprecht’s best win came against current IBF and WBO strawweight titleholder Yokasta Valle by unanimous decision for the interim WBC title in 2018.

This would be the second time Rupprecht has fought outside her native Germany as a pro and the first time in the United States. She defeated Yana Denisova in Russia in 2016.

Amanda Serrano to Face Erika Cruz in Undisputed Featherweight Title Bout

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Amanda Serrano will be fighting for undisputed status in February…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, the current IBF, WBC and WBO featherweight titleholder, will face WBA champion Erika Cruz in an undisputed featherweight title fight, according to ESPN.

The fight between Serrano and Cruz will headline a card on February 4 at the Hulu Theater in New York City.

If Serrano wins, it will be the first time the seven-division titleholder would be an undisputed champion in a division, and she would be the first Puerto Rican undisputed champ, male or female.

Serrano (43-2-1, 30 KO) was last in the ring in September, when she beat Sarah Mahfoud by unanimous decision to win the IBF featherweight title. Serrano is ESPN’s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter.

She fought twice last year, against Mahfoud and Katie Taylor, a split-decision loss at the big room of Madison Square Garden in what was named ESPN‘s women’s fight of the year in 2022.

Cruz (15-1, 3 KO), 35, won the WBA belt in April, 2021, when she beat Jelena Mrdjenovich by technical decision.

She since defended the title twice, beating Melissa Esquivel by split decision in 2021 and Mrdjenovich by unanimous decision in a rematch in September. Cruz suffered her only loss in 2016, a majority decision loss to Alondra Gonzalez Flores in a four-round fight in Cruz’s second career fight.

For all of Serrano’s accomplishments – and there have been many since she began fighting professionally in 2009 – she has never become an undisputed four-belt champion, something she would become should she beat Cruz.

This could be the beginning of a big year for Serrano, who has said she would like to face Katie Taylor in a rematch of an April fight that saw Taylor win a split decision over Serrano for Taylor’s undisputed lightweight titles.

But first, Serrano said, she knew she wanted to fight Cruz.

“After Cruz,” Serrano told ESPN recently. “It’s a great storyline. Undisputed versus undisputed champion, and of course it’s a different weight class, but it is what it is. The first fight was great, and I think the second fight would be even better.”

Serrano said she would go up to lightweight to fight Taylor a second time should that fight happen.

ESPN previously reported Ramla Ali is also expected to fight on the February 4 card.

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