Seniesa Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs) stood her ground. With sheer grit and determination, she held onto her WBC/WBA minimumweight world titles, pulling off a unanimous victory against Argentina’s lionhearted former world champ, Leonela Yudica (19-2-3, 1 KO). Estrada, now 31 has her laser-focused sights on the undisputed championship crown now.
In the ring, Estrada’s dynamism was on full display. She fluidly toggled between orthodox and southpaw styles, landing punch combinations on Yudica as fast as lightning strikes. However, her relentless assault left room for counters, posing a risk each time she attempted to breach Yudica’s defense.
Even though Yudica’s arms had more reach, she was slow to get her game going. Gradually, though, she began to adapt to Estrada’s strategy, deploying left hooks and straight jabs as the fight intensified. Feeling the momentum of the fight swinging unfavorably, Estrada dialed up her onslaught in the latter rounds, launching an ever-increasing flurry of punches in the mounting slugfest.
Finally, the judges’ unanimous scores of 97-93 affirmed Estrada’s successful title defense.
On the undercard, Philadelphia’s own Nahir Albright (16-2, 7 KOs) emerged victorious in an eight-round majority decision against U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas (14-2, 12 KOs). Albright’s unwavering barrage of punches proved decisive.
Dominican Olympian Rohan Polanco (10-0, 6 KOs) made his mark in the Junior Welterweight clash. He dominated Panamanian challenger Cesar Francis (12-2, 7 KOs), flooring him with two knockdowns and bagging a fifth-round TKO.
In the Junior Lightweight division, rising star Abraham Nova (23-1, 16 KOs) toppled ex-world champ Jonathan Romero (35-2, 19 KOs) within three rounds, thanks to a surgical uppercut and a fight-sealing overhand right.
Junior Featherweight phenomenon Subaru Murata (5-0, 5 KOs) extended his knockout spree by overcoming Juan Centeno (8-9-3, 1 KO) via stoppage, with a decisive left uppercut in the second round.
In the Light Heavyweight category, a hard-fought battle between Dante Benjamin Jr. (7-0-1, 5 KOs) and William Langston (8-3-1, 5 KOs) concluded in a six-round majority draw. Langston’s late-game surge offset Benjamin’s early-round ascendancy.
Rounding off the night, former Team USA member Charlie Sheehy (7-0, 5 KOs) in the Lightweight division secured a third-round TKO victory over Kaylyn Alfred (4-5-2). Alfred’s defeat was sealed by a devastating left hook from which he couldn’t rally back.
