Marcela Eliana Acuna (42-6-1, 18 KO’s) and Edith Soledad Matthysse (12-7-1, 1 KO) faced off for the second time in just over a year at Sociedad Alemana de Gimnasia de Villa Ballester in Buenos Aires, Argentina with Acuna making the second defense of the WBO super bantamweight title. An October victory over Halanna Dos Santos won her the vacant strap and earlier this year her first defense ended in a TKO win. Matthysse is the former WBA featherweight champion, having won the title in December and vacating the belt a short time later.
The pace of the contest was constant throughout. Matthysse played the aggressor, but it was Acuna who landed the more effective punches. With most of the action taking place at close range, the majority of the shots Matthysse was landing were arm punches with little on them. At the conclusion of the contest, each judge saw things a little different but all came to the same end result: with scores of 98-92, 96-94, and 97-93, Marcela Acuna took a unanimous decision for the second time over Matthysse.
Also on the card, former WBC lightweight champion Erica Anabella Farias (20-1, 10 KO’s) scored a third round stoppage of Roxana Beatriz Laborde (8-14-2, 3 KO’s). The end came just past the halfway point of the round as the former champ unloaded on Laborde who was just out of her depth in this one. This was Farias’ first win since losing her title to Delfine Persoon in April. Laborde has now lost four straight and five of her last seven outings.
Jessica Chavez (21-3-3, 4 KO’s) keeps getting better. The WBC silver light flyweight champ pulled off another big win this weekend, taking a unanimous decision over Melissa McMorrow (9-5-3, 1 KO) in Mexico, the win earning her the vacant WBC International female flyweight title.
Since her loss to Esmeralda Moreno in early 2011, Chavez has won 11 contests with one draw, and has held the IBF and WBF light flyweight titles in addition to the two regional belts she now holds. To date, she is the only fighter to score a win over the world light flyweight and flyweight champion Yesica Bopp, avenging a prior decision loss. McMorrow was coming off a close loss to super flyweight title holder Mariana Juarez in a contest many felt she had won, which makes Chavez’s win that much more impressive.
McMorrow is a former WBO, WBA and WIBF flyweight champion as well as a former New York State title holder. In her career, the San Francisco native has had to travel to her opponents hometowns to secure big fights, whether it’s cross county or over-seas. In 2012 she defeated top pound for pound boxer Susi Kentikian in Germany to win the WBO and WIBF belts and returned to Germany a year later to defeat Nadia Raoui.
Forty two year old Chevelle Hallback (30-8-2, 13 KO’s) won the vacant WBF welterweight title, defeating Victoria Cisneros (11-16-2, 4 KO’s) by eighth round TKO. It was the second meeting for these two, in 2010 Hallback took an eight round decision. Now in her 18th year as a pro, Hallback has held titles as a featherweight, super featherweight, and lightweight. In tries at light welterweight and welterweight, she was defeated in world title contests by Holly Holm and Cecilia Breakhus respectively, then by Myriam Lamare in another try at a light welterweight title. Cisneros has lost a number of world title bouts, but currently holds the WBC silver welterweight belt.
In Corona, California, IFBA light flyweight champion Sindy Amador (12-1-1, 1 KO) and former WBC youth minimum-weight champ Anahi Torres (12-11-1, 2 KO’s) fought to an eight round draw in a non-title contest. Amador’s lone loss came to Jolene Blackshear in 2013. Torres hit a rough patch from 2008-2011 but had won seven of eight bouts coming in.
Next Friday, August 29th, former world super bantamweight champion Ana Julaton (13-4-1, 2 KO’s) makes her second appearance as an MMA fighter at ONE FC 19 in Dubai. Julaton won her MMA debut in May by third round knockout.
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