ORLANDO, Fla. – Jasmine Artiga was relentless as she overwhelmed Linn Sandstrom to retain her WBA junior bantamweight title here at the Caribe Royale Resort on Saturday night.
The fight was the main event of the preliminary card at “MVP Fight Night,” promoted by Most Valuable Promotions and streamed by DAZN.
Artiga, from Tampa, Florida, already had the vocal support of her home-state crowd, and it only grew in volume once the opening bell rang.
An Energizer bunny with power in her punches and Nonito Donaire in her corner, Artiga, 14-0-1 (7 KOs), assaulted the highly ranked Sandstrom throughout, racing across the ring and swarming her with punches, giving the Swedish-born Australian little room or time to fire back.
After two-and-a-half rounds of suffocating, non-stop offense, Artiga uncorked a left hand to the head that landed with audible effect while Sandstrom, 10-4-3 (2 KOs), was pinned to the ropes. Seizing the moment, Artiga put extra weight behind her follow-up barrage, and with Sandstrom not firing back, referee Massimo Montanini halted the contest at 1 minute and 1 second of the third.
“She came to crash the party, but ‘and still.’ And still more to come,” said Artiga afterward. “I would love to unify the division, so whatever belt is next, let’s do it.”
Also on the card, two-time world title challenger Jamaine Ortiz knocked out overmatched Ambiorix Bautista to make it three wins in a row since he fell just short against junior welterweight titlist Teofimo Lopez Jnr in February 2024.
Ortiz was simply on another level, and Bautista, 19-3 (11 KOs), did not know how to respond as Ortiz effortlessly jabbed him in mid-ring and opened up when he backed him to the ropes or into a corner. In the third, a pair of Ortiz uppercuts, to body and head, followed by a short right cross, caused Bautista to slump to the floor. He beat the count, but when Ortiz, 20-2-1 (10 KOs), opened up anew, referee Alicia Collins stepped in as Bautista was on his way down again.
Junior bantamweight Nat Dove, 6-0 (2 KOs), remained unbeaten with a fifth-round stoppage of overmatched ab.
Faster and more accurate, Dove controlled the range, causing Morales, 5-6 (3 KOs), to fall short with her punches as Dove landed almost at will with jabs, straight punches and right crosses.
By Round 5, Dove appeared to be tiring from throwing and landing so many blows, but Morales, although game, looked exhausted and ready to go. A Dove flurry caused referee Luis Pabon to step in and protect Morales at 1 minute and 50 seconds of the round. Morales was unhappy, but it was a good stoppage.
In the opening bout of the night, junior flyweight Jocelyn Camarilo proved too good for opponent Agustina Vazquez as she boxed her way to a comfortable unanimous decision over four rounds.
Over the first two rounds Camarillo, 5-0, peppered Vazquez, 4-5-2, with fast, straight punches and displayed excellent footwork and head movement that prevented Vazquez from landing much of anything. Vazquez found more success in the third as Camarillo fought a little more flat-footed, but Camarillo engaged an extra gear in Round 4 to secure the win by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice.
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.
