Saturday night at König Palast, Krefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, WBA flyweight champion Susi “Killer Queen” Kentikian (33-2, 17 KO’s) made the second defense of the world title, stopping IFBA minimum-weight champ Dan Bi-Kim (9-3-1, 2 KO’s) in the ninth round, the champs first stoppage win in six years.
Despite her disadvantage in experience and overall skill, the challenger did pose some trouble in the early rounds. Her wild and aggressive style made it difficult for the champ to land her own punches without leaving herself at risk of getting caught with one of Kim’s wide shots. By the fourth round however, Kim had slowed considerably and was barely able to land a clean shot on the champ, who in turn was able to counter easily with three and four punch combinations that landed cleanly. Kentikian gained greater control as the contest wore on and by the ninth frame Kim’s team had seen enough. Knowing their fighter had little chance of pulling out a come from behind win they stopped the contest, saving Kim from further punishment.
This was Kentikian’s second title defense in her second reign as world champion. From 2007-2011 she held the WBA, WIBF and WBO flyweight titles, but back to back defeats in 2012 cost her all three belts. In 2013 she won the interim WBA title and later that year, avenged one of her defeats, scoring a unanimous decision over Carina Moreno to regain the WBA crown.
Kim is in her third term as the IFBA minimum-weight champ, having held the title in 2009-2010 and again in 2011. Her latest title reign began this past March. She’s been a pro for over eight years, but has had multiple stretches of inactivity, putting her at a disadvantage against higher level opposition.
Maria Elena Maderna (13-8-3, 2 KO’s) scored a stoppage of her own in her defense of the WBO lightweight crown. The champ dropped challenger Angela Marciales (10-9-3, 8 KO’s)with a right hand in the sixth frame that appeared to injure the challengers eye and following the rounds completion, Marciales corner stopped the bout, awarding Maderna the win via RTD 7. This was the third defense and second consecutive stoppage win for Maderna, who won the strap last June after a failed try at the IBF super featherweight title. It’s her first run as a world champion though she held the Argentina lightweight belt in 2011. Marciales has had two prior title opportunities; both resulted in losses.
Former interim WBA bantamweight champ Sabrina Maribel Perez (11-0-1, 2 KO’s) won the vacant WBC Silver super bantamweight title with a 10 round decision over Cristina del Valle Pacheco (6-9-2, 1 KO) in Argentina. A year ago, Perez fought to a 10 round draw with Carolina Duer in a bid for the vacant WBO bantamweight title. This was the first title bout of any kind for Pacheco, who has only won three bouts since 2008.
Peruvian super flyweight Linda Laura Lecca (10-2-1, 3 KO’s) won a version of the world title. Lecca took a 10 round unanimous decision over Simone Da Silva Duarte (14-6, 6 KO’s), who was in her fifth try at a world title after being unsuccessful in the prior four. Prior to this weekend’s world title win, Lecca won the vacant WBA Fedelatin super flyweight title in March. Duarte briefly held the WIBA South American bantamweight title in 2007.
The WBA light welterweight title was on the line in Russia, as defending champion Ana Laura Esteche (10-3-2, 2 KO’s) met undefeated challenger and interim title holder Svetlana Kulakova (9-0-1, 1 KO) at Arena Mytishchi. The two fought to a 10 round draw, with Kulakova losing points in both the fifth and eighth rounds; points that ultimately cost her the fight. This was Esteche’s first defense since winning the belt from Monica Silvina Acosta in January.
WBA bantamweight champ Irma Garcia (10-1-1, 2 KO’s) scored a fourth round TKO over Honey Mae Bermoy (6-4, 6 KO’s) in a non-title contest in Mexico. Garcia won the title in January of 2013 and has fought five times since, defending the title on two occasions, one being a 10 round win in a return bout against Janeth Perez from whom she won the belt.
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