Monterrey, Mexico played host to two world title contests Saturday night with both titles changing hands. In a bantamweight contest, current WIBA champion Carolina Rodriguez (12-0, 1 KO) remained undefeated and won the IBF bantamweight title with a 10 round majority decision over reigning champ Janeth Perez (19-3-2, 4 KO’s). Perez, who had a stretch as the WBA bantamweight title holder, dropped a pair of bouts to Irma Garcia last year and in
November won the vacant IBF title over Galina Koleva Ivanova; Garcia was her first defense. This was just the third time in her young career that Garcia has fought in a scheduled 10 round bout. She turned pro in 2010 and last year won both the WBA Fedelatin and WIBA bantamweight titles. Perez was a step up in class compared to her prior competition.
Also on the card, Victoria Argueta (12-1, 4 KO’s) won the IBF minimum-weight title from Nancy Franco (12-6-2, 4 KO’s) who was also making her first title defense. Argueta has lost in her last world title contest to WBC minimum-weight champ Naoko Fujioka, but had since won the WBC Silver belt and is also the Mexico title holder. Franco, who holds the IBF Inter-Continental minimum-weight title, won the world championship in her last bout, taking a decision over Kayoko Ebata in Japan. In prior years, she had been unsuccessful in tries at regional title belts, but was coming in to this bout on a four fight winning streak.
Headlining a show in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Rola El-Halabi (14-1, 7 KO’s) became a multiple world title holder with a 10 round decision over Victoria Cisneros (11-15-2, 4 KO’s). The former lightweight champion was defending her WBF light welterweight title, and took home the vacant WIBA and UBF light welterweight belts with the win. It was her third victory since suffering her lone defeat in January of 2013 when Lucia Morelli took a close majority decision to win three vacant lightweight championships. Moving up in weight in her next contest, she won the vacant WBF light welterweight crown, which she successfully defended in September prior to this weekend’s bout. Cisneros has had little luck in title contests, this being her third failed attempt at world honors. In her last bout she won the vacant WBC Silver female welterweight title, stopping then undefeated Paty Ramirez by fourth round TKO. Turning pro in 2004, she had a rough start to her career, winning just a handful of bouts and being inactive throughout 2007 and 2008. In 2012 however, she managed to put things on a positive track and has lost just twice in nine contests.
On another card in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Maria Lindberg (9-1-2, 3 KO’s) became a two time WIBA and WIBF light middleweight champion, stopping the overmatched Edita Lesnik (2-8, 2 KO’s) in three rounds. Lingberg originally won the WIBF strap in 2009 and the WIBA belt in 2010. In 2011 she made an attempt at the world middleweight title but lost a decision to the undefeated title holder Christina Hammer. She won her next three contests in 2012, and had been inactive until this most recent victory. As for Lesnik, despite her record, this was her third title challenge and third loss.
In Neuquen, Argentina, the interim WBO bantamweight champion, Mayra Alejandra Gomez (16-3, 4 KO’s) retained the title with a 10 round split decision in a return bout with Carolina Gutierrez (21-4-1, 13 KO’s) at Parque Central. It was the first defense for Gomez, who had lost a bid for the regular WBO bantamweight crown last July to Carolina Duer. Two fights later she took the interim belt, defeating Gutierrez for the first time, also by split decision. Gutierrez is a former WBA super flyweight title holder, holding the interim title from 2008 through 2012 before moving up in weight. In 2009 she lost to Susi Kentikian in her attempt at the WBA and WIBF flyweight belts.
Former WBA featherweight champion Ogleidis Suarez (20-3-1, 8 KO’s) moved up the super featherweight division to win the interim WBA title with a 10 round decision over Calixta Silgado (11-4-2, 8 KO’s) in Venezuela. Suarez, who doubles as a model, held the WBA featherweight belt for a little over two years having won the interim strap in 2011 and the “real” title two years later. In December she was soundly defeated by Edith Matthysse, which led her to move up in weight. Silgado has never held a championship but has challenged twice for world and regional titles.
The WIBA crowned a new featherweight champion in Whitehall, New York. In her first bout since 2011, Carla Torres (4-2) worked her way to a 10 round decision over previously undefeated Ronica Jeffrey (13-1, 1 KO) to take the vacant title and avenge a three year old defeat. Jeffrey is the super featherweight champion for the IWBF and WIBA, and in 2011 held the NABF title as well. She defeated Torres three years ago when both fighters were still new to the pro ranks, taking a four round decision. Torres lost a four round contest in 2011 and had been inactive until this weekend’s title win.
Former world super flyweight and super bantamweight champion Aniya Seki (24-2-2, 2 KO’s) extended her winning streak to seven with a first round stoppage of Alexandra Gorog (5-15-1, 1 KO) in Switzerland. Seki is the current WBC Silver super flyweight title holder and the former WIBF champ in the super flyweight and super bantamweight classes, as well as the former title holder as a super bantamweight for the GBU.
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