In her first title defense, interim WBA super bantamweight champion Liliana Palmera (24-11-3, 15 KO’s) defeated former title holder Alys Sanchez (13-3-1, 4 KO’s) over 10 rounds at the Coliseo Mario de León in Cerete, Colombia.
Sanchez fought form the outside, circling the ring, and appeared to miss a lot of punches from simply throwing them from too far away. When the two did close the distance, it was the defending champ who scored more often. Final scores of the contest were comfortable for Sanchez on two cards with a tally of 99:91 and 97:93, with one judge seeing the bout 96:94 in favor of Alys Sanchez.
This second title bout win is a big step for Palmera, who had been unsuccessful in nine prior title attempts before winning the interim WBA belt this past October by defeating Ana Lozano. Sanchez briefly held this same title in 2012, but has since lost three of her last four contests including a fight against Jackie Nava last May.
On the undercard, former lightweight world champion Enis Pacheco (12-2-2, 7 KO’s) won an eight round decision over Angie Barca (1-5), and Francia Elena Bravo (19-4-2, 9 KO’s) defeated Paulina Cardona (20-20-6, 8 KO’s).
Saturday night in Italy, former two division world champion Simona Galassi (23-3-1, 4 KO’s) made the third defense of the EBU flyweight title, taking a 10 round decision over Loredana Piazza (10-3, 4 KO’s). Galassi is the former WBC flyweight and IBF super flyweight champion with seven victories in world title contests. Her last world title opportunity in late 2013 ended in a decision loss to WBA title holder Susi Kentikian, but she’s won four bouts since. This is her second time holding the EBU belt; she won this same title in her fifth pro bout back in 2007 before moving to the world stage.
WBO world flyweight champion Kenia Enriquez (13-0, 6 KO’s) broke new ground, holding the first all-female amateur boxing tournament in Tijuana, Mexico this past weekend. Five champs were crowned among the competitors with medals and trophies being donated by the WBC’s Mauricio Sulaiman. The tournament was Enriquez’s way of showing her appreciation to the younger fighters; the champ said her plans are to hold the tournament on an annual basis. WBAN’s Sue TL Fox, promoter Bobby DePhilippis, and the WBC helped organize the event.
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