Just like the caped crusaders in the comic books who exhibit their true heroism by persevering in the face of great adversity, Seniesa ‘Superbad’ Estrada kicked off a big boxing weekend in Sin City by digging deeper than she has ever had to before to triumph in the end over an unflinching challenge from Leonela Yudica.
So as not to compete with Saturday’s Undisputed welterweight showdown between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence at the T-Mobile Arena, just two and a half miles away on the other side of the Vegas Strip from the Palms Casino Resort, Top Rank rescheduled the Estrada/Yudica bout, originally slated to also take place on the 29th, for Friday night instead.
This marked a return visit for Estrada to the Palms’ Pearl Theater, only this time as the headliner. This past November, Seniesa successfully defended her WBA title there with an across-the-board shutout of Jazmin Villarino, ending an eleven-month layoff during which she parted ways with Golden Boy Promotions and inked a new deal with Top Rank.
Yudica, who debuted in 2012 with a four-round decision over eventual four-time adversary Soledad del Valle Frías, was venturing stateside from her native Argentina for only the second time. Needless to say, Yudica was hoping for a better result than when her eight-year reign as IBF world flyweight champion came to an end by way of a controversial split decision loss to Arely Mucino in San Diego last October. This was Leonela’s only defeat in twenty-four contests going into Friday’s 105-pound title fight opposite Estrada, who was putting her newly unified WBA, WBC, and Ring magazine belts on the line.
If there was any question whether or not Yudica would receive fair treatment from the judges in a close fight this time around, especially in Vegas against a pound for pound superstar with the backing of the promoter and network, it was well worth asking. Fortunately, the final decision would be free from controversy, a negligible point total notwithstanding. When all was said and done, the correct woman got the nod. But just barely. An upset-minded Leonela Yudica saw to that.
The former flyweight champion stepped on the scales at a career-low 103.7, but her performance against Estrada betrayed no indication of ill effects from the weight cut. Quite the opposite. Seniesa started off the fight by simply doing what she does so well. Like no other, in fact. Working her way inside and throwing barrages of punches upstairs and down from both the orthodox and southpaw stances, pivoting to switch back and forth between the two in the course of a single encounter.
Unlike many of Estrada’s past opponents, who were befuddled to the point of almost total helplessness by this technique, it didn’t take long for the crafty Yudica to make the necessary adjustments that allowed her to not only deal with Seniesa’s unconventional style but to make it work against her by catching the champion off-balance and unprotected during these ambidextrous shifts.
Advantages in height and reach also worked in Leonala’s favor, as Estrada’s tendencies to stand tall while engaging in close and retreat straight back without pulling her head off the line created inviting opportunities for her challenger to capitalize on. The left hook was Yudica’s best weapon throughout the first few rounds, getting the measure of Estrada to counter effectively and frequently. But her right hand was put to use as well, finding its target on Seniesa’s cheekbone with increasing precision as the bout went on.
Well aware of what Yudica was up to and that her game plan was being implemented with much success, Estrada’s coach Dean Campos instructed her to be mindful of her defense, keeping her guard high and tight in addition to dipping down and around while trading in close quarters. What’s more, Campos wanted Seniesa to lure Yudica into traps then spring quickly into action, tricking her foe into thinking she was doing one thing before defying expectation and coming at her from another angle entirely.
Executing this strategy, Estrada pulled slightly ahead as the fight passed the halfway point, but Leonela remained patient, poised, and prepared to play the long game. It’s not sufficient to say that she was putting Seniesa to the test. Timing Estrada to exploit any opening she could find and beat Seniesa to the punch, Yudica seemed to be pulling away with the fight as the championship rounds approached.
“Don’t try to look spectacular. Just win the fight. You can look spectacular next time,” Dean Campos implored Estrada after round eight which went to Yudica and, depending on how you were seeing things, put Seniesa in the rare position of being beaten up and behind on the scorecards with time running out to pull even much less ahead.
With swelling beneath her left eye and needing to decisively win the last two rounds, Estrada demonstrated her ability to work smart as well as work hard. Utilizing her bait and switch tactic to great effect in summoning Yudica forward and setting her up for the left hook, Seniesa closed the show with sublime ring generalship to remain undefeated and retain her titles by identical tallies of 97-93.
The road to Undisputed at 105 now has only two passengers, with Seniesa Estrada and Yokasta Valle destined for a spectacular head-on collision in the hopefully not too distant future. Whomever manages to better withstand the force of the impact will walk away from that crash with bragging rights and all the belts to back it up.
Valle, the Costa Rican IBF/WBO champion, last fought on March 25 when she handed previously unbeaten Jessica Basulto Salazar her first career defeat before a home crowd the same night Estrada lifted the WBC belt off of Tina Rupprecht in Fresno, California to compliment her WBA strap as well as the inaugural Ring magazine minimumweight title.
Estrada vs. Valle is without question one of the most competitive and anticipated women’s bouts to be made. And it could very well set the stage for an Undisputed vs. Undisputed grudge match between Seniesa and arch rival Marlen Esparza, assuming of course that Esparza meets and defeats Arely Mucino to merge every single flyweight title together in the meantime as well.
Valle was in attendance Friday evening, confronting Estrada in the ring after her victory to tempt her into a fight in Costa Rica by flaunting her drawing power in Central America. “I fill stadiums, not theaters,” she said with obvious scorn and ridicule.
“It’s going to be an ass beating,” a jubilant and confident Estrada responded. “Not only am I beating her, I’m beating her trainer, and I’m beating Golden Boy Promotions. Superbad all day! Let’s go!”
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