Beatriz Ferreira and Maria Ines Ferreyra may have similar names and both be professional boxers, but Brazil's Ferreira showed that the similarities end there as she dominated Argentina's Ferreyra over 10 rounds to defend her IBF lightweight title at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida on Saturday night.
The fight was the main event in “Most Valuable Prospects 13: Championship Edition,” promoted by MVP and Boxlab and streaming on DAZN.
Ferreyra, 11-1-1 (6 KOs), entered the ring undefeated and as Ferreira's leading challenger, but Ferreira, a two-time Olympic medallist, was on a different plane in terms of skill and talent throughout. The one-sided nature of the contest was reflected in scores of 99-91 (twice) and 98-92.
Although Ferreyra came out swinging and trying to apply pressure, Ferreira, 7-0 (2 KOs), soon demonstrated her superiority, using upper-body movement to roll out of Ferreyra's punches and respond with sharp hooks and right crosses that repeatedly crashed into the Argentine's jaw.
The challenger never allowed her shoulders to sag or her effort to diminish, but the breadth of experience and depth of skill was far too great a gulf for her to overcome. In a division with plenty of legitimate world-class talent, Ferreira is a genuine contender to be considered the best of them all.
Nothing that Ferreyra tried worked. She launched punches from a distance, only for Ferreira to slip them, step inside and crack her with combinations. She tried stepping forward and closing the distance, but before she got where she wanted to be, Ferreira had subtly shifted position and launched accurate counter shots.
“I'm very happy,” Ferreira said afterward. “I thought she was a bit disrespectful, saying she was going to knock me out. But I showed Brazil is better than Argentina – and my belt proves it.”
In response to a challenge from WBA titlist Stephanie Han, who was ringside, Ferreira said, “Just name the time and the place. The 135lbs division belongs to me.”
Ferreira's fellow Brazilian Luan Medeiros made his US debut a victorious one as he used fast hands and sharp punches to befuddle and outclass Tony Aguilar, 13-2-1 (4 KOs), over eight rounds in the junior welterweight division.
Medeiros, 6-0 (4 KOs), looked impressive from the off, deploying a wide stance and working behind a snapping jab with an effective straight right hand that frequently found its target while Aguilar was still considering what to throw.
A frustrated Aguilar repeatedly sought to close the distance and turn the boxing contest into a brawl, but even when the fight was theoretically in territory that was favorable to him, the Floridian struggled to come to terms with Medeiros’ upper-body movement and rapid counters.
By Round 5, Aguilar had dialed in on a swinging overhand right as his weapon of choice, but the wide, slow arc of his punches was no match for the shorter, straighter punches of his opponent.
If there was a criticism to be leveled at Medeiros, it was a habit of holding and looking pleadingly at the referee; after several warnings for his failure to let go during clinches, he was docked a point in Round 6.
It made no difference. Medeiros had perhaps his best round of the fight in the seventh, rocking Aguilar with a short right and forcing him to cover up with a follow-up uppercut; even with the point deduction, Medeiros was a clear winner after all eight frames by scores of 77-84 and 78-73 (twice).
In a mild upset, Mexico's Naomy Cardenas, 9-0 (2 KOs), outworked and out-hustled Canada's Bree Howling via split decision in a fast-paced and competitive bantamweight contest.
Cardenas came flying out of the blocks, hurling punches and refusing to give Howling, 9-1 (2 KOs), room to breathe and find space for her own counters. Round after round, Cardenas kept after her, head almost on Howling's chest, giving no quarter and dragging her into a street fight.
Cardenas’ output was remarkable: She had thrown 300 punches through the first three rounds and ended up throwing 747 in total, or 93 per round – the fourth-highest rate ever recorded in women's boxing.
Howling found greater success as the contest went on, but although she had stretches where she landed the cleaner, crisper, more effective punches, they weren't sufficiently cleaner, crisper or more effective to negate Cardenas’ work rate.
The two exchanged furious combinations in the final round, as both sensed the fight may be in the balance; but while two scorecards were split 77-75 in either direction, the third saw it 79-73 for Cardenas, who hung the first “L” on Howling's record.
In the 154lbs opener on DAZN, Kissimmee, Florida's own Antraveous Ingram scored a unanimous decision over Nico Ali Walsh conqueror Sena Akale.
Despite having significant height and reach advantages, Ingram, 11-0 (5 KOs), allowed himself to get dragged into Akale's kind of fight, standing in the pocket and exchanging punches. Although the young Floridian was landing by far the more effective punches and seemed unconcerned by Akale's, the first few rounds were far more chaotic than his team would have liked.
After a straight southpaw left and a crunching uppercut buckled Akale, 9-3 (4 KOs), in the fourth, Ingram settled down and boxed well over the closing frames, turning a tiring Akale repeatedly and firing sharp punches.
Two of the judges scored the contest 60-54, while the third found two rounds for Akale on a 58-56 card.
Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, including most recently Arctic Passages: Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.