Jessica Chavez said she “wasn’t the same girl” as she was four years ago, and Saturday night she proved it. Chavez (18-3-2, 4 KO’s), the WBC silver light flyweight titlist, scored big in the division when she dealt WBO/WBO world champion Yesica Bopp (24-1, 11 KO’s) her first professional defeat in front of her Mexican fan base at Estadio Morelos, in Ecatepec, Mexico.
This bout was a far cry from their first meeting which took place in 2009, when Bopp easily defeated then 20 year old Chavez 100-90 in a WBA world title defense. This time, Chavez stayed one step ahead of the world champ and never allowed her to gain a solid foothold in the fight, though most of the rounds were close. There were moments when it seemed Bopp was ready to break out and take over the fight, but Chavez would have none of it. She matched her opponent’s aggression with her own, and at times had the world champion lunging in with wide shots that missed the target.
Final scores of the bout were 97-93 twice and 96-95 all in favor of Chavez. The victory extends her win streak to eight fights but doesn’t gain her any title belts; Bopp’s WBA and WBO world titles weren’t up for grabs, and rumor is that Bopp may be stripped by the WBO for taking the fight.
Bopp is scheduled to fight again in July against an opponent to be named, no word on Chavez’s next fight. A rubber match between the two, giving Chavez a shot at the world title sounds like a good idea though.
In France, hard hitting Anne Sophie Mathis (27-3, 23 KO’s) made a successful jump in weight and stopped Yahaira Hernandez (14-5, 8 KO’s) in the fifth round, winning the vacant WBF light middleweight title. The victory was Mathis’s first after going winless in two bouts in 2012, losing to Holly Holm and Cecilia Braekhus in welterweight world title fights. The loss snaps a three fight win streak for Hernandez. All five of her losses have come in world title bouts and with the exception of Mathis, to undefeated fighters.
Daniela Bermudez (14-2-2, 4 KO’s) picked up the vacant WBO bantamweight title, making easy work of Niesi Torres (8-1-1), stopping her in the first round in Rio Negro, Argentina. After stunning Torres at the mid-point of the round with a right hand, the bout was waved off when another punch sent Torres staggering across the ring. The ease of this bout for Bermudez should come as no surprise, as Torres’s previously undefeated record was well padded with opponents whose records totaled 2 wins and 45 losses.
This was Bermudez’s third fight of the year, and she’s now riding a nine fight win streak. She holds the interim WBA super flyweight title in addition to the WBO strap she won in this bout, and is a former WBA interim bantamweight champion. Her last defeat was in 2011 to light flyweight champion Yesica Bopp.
Elina Tissen (16-2, 6 KO’s) extended her winning streak to 10 bouts when she won a shut out unanimous decision over Doris Koehler (11-13-2, 5 KO’s) in Germany. Tissen, who was defending the GBU, GBC, and WIBF world featherweight titles, has been a title holder since 2008 and has held all three belts since early 2011. She also defeated Koehler in March of 2012: Koehler failed to win a single round in that bout as well.
A third match up took place between Jelena Mrdjenovich (29-9-1, 14 KO’s) and WBC featherweight champion Melissa Hernandez (18-4-3, 6 KO’s) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A sixth round technical decision for Mrdjenovich allowed her to regain the WBC strap that she lost to Hernandez in September. This was her first victory over Hernandez, who also won their first meeting in 2011 by an eight round decision. Both fighters have held multiple world titles in numerous weight divisions.
WBC Youth minimum-weight champ Anahi Torres (12-10, 2 KO’s) took a 10 round decision over winless Lorena Mendoza (0-5-1), making her fourth successful title defense. Torres has made big improvements over the last two years: after turning pro in 2008 and accumulating a record of 5-10, she’s been unbeaten in her last seven outings, and with exception to Mendoza, taking on good opposition. If we can say one positive thing about Mendoza, it’s that she’s never been stopped.
Former world champion Holly Holm, who retired last month has signed a professional MMA contract with Legacy Fighting Championship. Holm will make her Legacy debut on July 19, live on AXS TV, from Houston Arena Theater in Houston, Texas. She is 3-0 (3 KO’s) in pro MMA bouts.
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