World Weekend Boxing Roundup: Women In The Spotlight

ByWellington Amadulu

Club Comunicaciones in Pergamino, Argentina played host to a clash for the vacant IBF Female super feather belt between hometown hero Anahi Esther Sanchez and English southpaw Areti Mastrodouka on Saturday evening.

Both fighters entered the bout undefeated while Sanchez was the reigning WBA Interim bantam champ and at 24 years of age, was far younger than 39 year old Mastrodouka, who had previously held the GBU lightweight and Unified super feather crowns.

In the bout, Sanchez parlayed her height and youth advantage to good effect and after five rounds of combat, Mastrodouka’s team kept their fighter in the corner at the start of the sixth frame.

Sanchez now stands at 13-0 (6) and is arguably at the top of a very competitive Women’s super feather division, which also includes such luminaries as Eva Wahlstroem, Ramona Keuthe.

Matrodouka suffers her first loss and drops to 9-1 (2) after a spirited effort.

Heading north to Mexico, there was more Women’s world title action, this time at Centro de Espectaculos del Recinto Ferial in Metepec.

Gracing the stage were longtime WBC light fly queen Ibeth Zamora Silva and Japanese challenger Mari Ando, who previously held the WBC Female minimumweight strap.

Ando’s string of hard luck continued as she was stopped at 0:52 of the sixth round, dropping her to 12-9 (5), as she’s now gone 2-5 over her last seven appearances, six of which were title bouts.

Silva improves to 25-5 (10), having won 10 consecutive bouts, including six defenses of the WBC throne.

At South Africa’s Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park, one of that country’s top boxers was shockingly dethroned on Saturday evening.

Hekkie Budler, 29-2 (9), was relieved of his WBO/WBA minimumweight belts by unheralded Nicaraguan challenger Byron Rojas, 17-2-3 (8), who pulled out a 115-113 UD over “The Hexicutioner”.

On Friday, the spotlight was at the Metro Arena in Espoon, Finland where local icon Eva Wahlstroem, 17-0-1 (3), fended off the challenge of former IBF Female featherweight champ Dahania Santana, 35-8 (14), in defense of the WBC Female super feather trophy.

Since 2005, Santana, of the Dominican Republic, had only fallen short against world champions and represented a very real threat to Wahlstroem’s undefeated record but the Helsinki resident posted a 99-92, 99-92, 99-91 UD.