Tina Rupprecht (L) and Seniesa Estrada (R) exchange punches during their WBA & WBC minimumweight unification championship fight at Save Mart Center on March 25, 2023 in Fresno, California. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
FRESNO, Calif. – Seniesa Estrada now owns two world title belts at 105 pounds and has become The Ring’s inaugural strawweight champion. She hopes her next fight is for the undisputed world championship.
Estrada outboxed Tina Rupprecht over 10 rounds, winning a shutout decision before a loud and partisan crowd at the Save Mart Center.
All three judges scored the bout 100-90 in favor of Estrada (24-0, 9 knockouts). She retained her WBA world title and won Rupprecht’s WBC world title belt.
The clash between Estrada and Rupprecht pitted two fighters ranked in the top 5 in the women’s rankings by The Ring. Estrada and Rupprecht are ranked No. 1 and 3, respectively.
Estrada switched from a conventional stance to southpaw and back to conventional, unleashing two- and three-punch combinations behind a consistent jab throughout most of the fight, a tactic that allowed her to dominate. Rupprecht looked to counter as both stood in the pocket, but Estrada continued to focus on the body of Rupprecht, connecting with left hooks and right hands.
Rupprecht had a better third round, throwing and landing lead right crosses to the head of Estrada on two occasions that found their mark. Estrada took the punches well and was able to fire back a series of combinations to the head and body.
Estrada utilized effective lateral movement, making Rupprecht miss and following up with the more-accurate punches. Estrada did well in varying her offense, keeping Rupprecht at bay and mostly at the end of her punches.
Sensing she was down on the scorecards, Rupprecht pressed the action, but would get countered to the body by Estrada. Even during the final two rounds, Estrada was content to work from distance, picking apart Rupprecht until the final bell sounded to end the fight.
In her previous fight on November 12, Estrada successfully defended WBA Female world title belt, for the second time, defeating Argentina’s Jazmin Gala Villarino by unanimous decision.
In an interview with The Ring, Estrada was adamant she wanted to face IBF and WBO titleholder Yokasta Valle in a unification fight for the undisputed championship. Valle was also scheduled to fight Saturday night in her adopted hometown of San Jose, Costa Rica against unbeaten Jessica Basulto Salazar.
Estrada is grateful for the opportunity to unify the world title belts
“This means everything to me,” said Estrada after the fight. “This training camp was more mentally tough than physical. I stuck to my game plan. I had to use my jab because Tina is so short. I took away her right hand during the fight.
“My goal is to be undisputed in three different weight classes. After I become undisputed at 105 pounds, I want to move up and be undisputed at 108 pounds. I want to be undisputed in three different weight classes.”
Rupprecht, who resides in Augsburg, Germany, falls to 12-1-1, 3 KOs. She made four successful defenses of the WBC Female strawweight world title belt.
In the opening bout of the ESPN stream, heavyweight Antonio Mireles of Des Moines, Iowa defeated Patrick Mailata by split decision.
One judge scored the bout 57-56 for Mailata, while the other two judges scored the bout 57-56 for Mireles, who goes to 7-0, 6 KOs.
The southpaw Mireles, a 6’9” amateur standout who is trained by Robert Garcia, would rain punches down onto the shorter Mailata. Undaunted, Mailata unleashed several hooks and crosses on the inside, even stunning Mireles twice during the second round, forcing Mireles to hold on to Maitana.
Towards the end of round 3, a right cross to the temple staggered Mireles, eventually dropping him to the canvas. Mireles beat the count, but was lucky the bell sounded to end the round as he was still on unsteady legs.
Mailata looked exhausted during the last two rounds of the fight. He was relegated to throwing one punch at a time, whether a hook or cross. When Mailata threw the punch and missed, he would lean up against Mireles, who was the more-effective fighter during this stage of the fight.
Mailata, who resides in Apia, Samoa, drops to 6-2, 3 KOs.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]
Follow @FSalazarBoxing
