Two of Mexico’s most popular female fighters saw action on separate cards in Mexico this past weekend. In Mexico City, interim WBA super bantamweight champion Jackie Nava (30-4-3, 13 KO’s) unified the interim WBA and WBC super-bantamweight titles when she defeated WBC champion Alicia Ashley from Westbury, New York. The 47 year old Ashley was riding a seven bout winning streak with her last two wins coming by stoppage; this was her fourth title defense. For Jackie Nava, this was her second outing since returning from a two year maternity leave. She wasted no time getting back into the title picture; in her return bout this past May, she knocked out Alys Sanchez to win the interim WBA belt.
It was a close contest throughout; Nava fought behind a high guard, stalking her opponent while Ashley used her long reach and footwork to fight from the outside. Nava’s aggression gave her the edge on most occasions, though Ashley was able to land some telling shots of her own even when the action was in close.
The final two rounds were the best of the bout, with Nava landing a solid flurry in the final seconds of the fight. Scores of 98-92, 97-93, and 95-95 gave Nava the majority decision victory and made her a two title champion. This was her sixth straight win since a close loss to Ana Maria Torres in 2011.
Just a bit south in Puebla, WBC International super flyweight champion Mariana Juarez (40-7-3, 27 KO’s) made a successful defense of her title, stopping Carla Romina Weiss (9-3-1) after the third round. The official ruling being RTD 4, as Weiss failed to answer the bell for the start of the fourth round. The challenger was game, but Juarez was simply too much for her.
This was the third defense for Juarez since winning the title just over a year ago. The former world flyweight champion has now won four straight, this being her first stoppage win in over two years. As a flyweight she was successful in 15 consecutive WBC world title contests until a decision loss to Ava Knight in 2012 broke her streak.
Rising light flyweight Kenia Enriquez (12-0, 6 KO’s) kept her undefeated record intact with an eight round decision over Mayela Perez (11-16-4, 7 KO’s) in San Diego, California. Enriquez is the current NABF light flyweight title holder, though the title wasn’t at stake. Perez holds the WBC silver minimum-weight title, and has also fought for titles as a super flyweight.
In Brooklyn, New York, IFBA and UBF flyweight champion Eileen Olszewski (9-5-3, 1 KO) fought Christina Fuentes (3-6-5) to an eight round draw. Olszewski was coming in off a pair of title winning performances while Fuentes has lost two of her prior three.
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