Juan Francisco Estrada defeated Argi Cortes by a unanimous decision in a tougher-than-expected 12-round junior bantamweight fight.
The scores were 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113. Boxing Junkie scored it 115-112 for Estrada, seven rounds to five.
Estrada (43-3, 28 KOs) put Cortes (23-3-2, 10 KOs) down with a body shot in Round 7.
Estrada is now in a position to face rival Roman Gonzalez for a third time late this year. Meanwhile, the performance of Cortes against one of the sport’s more respected stars stamped him as an elite fighter.
A full report will follow shortly.
***
Erika Cruz successfully defended her WBA featherweight title in a rematch with Jelena Mrdjenovich, winning a shutout 10-round decision.
All three judges scored the fight 100-90, 10 rounds to none.
Cruz, who took the belt from Mrdjenovich (41-12-1, 19 KOs) in April of last year, outboxed and outworked the Canadian veteran from beginning to end in front of her home-country fans.
Cruz (15-1, 3 KOs) could be on a collision course with fellow 126-pound titleholder Amanda Serrano for the undisputed championship.
***
Sivenathi Nontshinga defeated Hector Flores by a 12-round split decision to win the vacant IBF 108-pound title.
Two judges scored it for Nontshinga, 116-111 and 114-113. The third had Flores winning, 115-112.
Nontshinga (11-0, 9 KOs) put Flores (20-1-4, 10 KOs) down in Round 2, which proved to be the difference in the scoring. Had the Mexican remained on his feet, the fight would’ve been a draw.
The fight was difficult to score, as the combatants banged away toe-to-toe almost the entire fight and neither could gain a significant advantage throughout.
For the reason, the wide scoring arguably was justified.
With the victory, Nontshinga became the only South African who currently holds a major title.
***
Junior lightweight contender Eduardo Hernandez stopped Jorge Mata at 1:15 of Round 5 of a scheduled 10-round bout.
Hernandez (33-1, 30 KOs) used relentless pressure to wear down the game, but overmatched Mata (14-1-2, 10 KOs), who took a knee under a barrage a hard shots early in the final round.
Hernandez continued the onslaught until the referee stopped the fight.
“Rocky” has now won five consecutive fights since he was stopped in one round by Roger Gutierrez in July 2019. He hasn’t won a decision since his sixth fight.
***
Juan Francisco Estrada is expected to face rival Roman Gonzalez a third time late this year.
However, the two-division titleholder from Mexico must first get past countryman Argi Cortes (23-2-2, 10 KOs) in a tune-up fight Saturday in Hermosillo, Mexico (DAZN).
Estrada (42-3, 28 KOs) last fought in March of last year, when he narrowly outpointed Gonzalez.
The card begins at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The main event will take place later in the show.
Boxing Junkie will post results of all the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Enjoy the fights!
[lawrence-related id=32386,18670,18601]