FRESNO, Calif. – Junior lightweight Muhammad Yaqubov and Cristian Cruz Chacon fought to a majority draw on Saturday night here at the Save Mart Center.
One judge saw it 96-94 in favor of Yaqubov, one scored it 97-93 for Chacon, and the deciding judge had it 95-95 a draw.
The tactical back-and-forth battle featured a contrast in styles, resulting in an awkward bout. It was a battle of two southpaws – but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Yaqubov, of Isfara, Tajikistan, is effective at range and economical with his punch selection. Chacon likes to fight on the inside and throw nontraditional shots at high volume. The bout ended with Chacon pressing forward, believing he had hurt his opponent, while Yaqubov was being evasive. Yaqubov landed the cleaner blows, but Chacon appeared to throw more and win many rounds on volume. The Fresno fans cheered wildly for Chacon at the end of the fight, who showed aggression similar to that of former titleholder Jose Ramirez, who sat ringside for the fight.
Yaqubov is now 23-1-1 (12 KOs) and unbeaten since his 2022 loss to O’Shaquie Foster. Chacon is now 24-7-2 (12 KOs), following his upset win over Jeremy Hill with another solid performance.
Junior flyweight Erik Badillo, of Mexico City, won a 10-round unanimous decision over Elwin Soto, a Mexican fighter who trains in Indio, California. The scores were 98-92, 99-91 and 99-91.
The fight followed a pattern similar to that of Yaqubov-Chacon, as Badillo fought methodically and Soto pressed forward all night long. Badillo rocked Soto with a right hook at the end of the ninth round, the most telling blow of the bout.
Badillo, 29, improved to 19-0 (8 KOs) and is currently the No. 1 contender for the WBO and WBC titles. The 28-year-old former titleholder Soto fell to 21-4-1 (13 KOs).
Women’s junior bantamweight Adelaida Ruiz, of Lynwood, California, won a 10-round unanimous decision over Alexas Kubicki, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The scores were 97-92, 97-92 and 99-90. The victory saw Ruiz claim the women’s WBC junior bantamweight title, which had been vacant going into the bout.
Ruiz, 37, landed a left hook followed by a right hand that dropped Kubicki in the fifth round. Ruiz landed some of her best punches in the final seconds of the fight as she chased Kabicki in search of the finish. Kubicki ended the bout with blood flowing from her nose.
Ruiz improved to 18-1-1 (8 KOs) and captured her first world title.
The 22-year-old Kubicki fell to 13-3 (2 KOs), having lost her past two fights – both title bouts. Gabriela Fundora stopped Kubicki in September.
Junior welterweight Karlos Balderas, of Santa Maria, California, won a 10-round split decision over Ricardo Quiroz of Oxnard, California. Two judges scored the bout 97-93 in Balderas’ favor, while one judge had it 96-94 for Quiroz.
Balderas, a 2016 US Olympian, now 29, improved to 17-2 (14 KOs) and is on a three-fight win streak since losing to Nahir Albright in 2023. Quiroz, 28, dropped to 13-7 (7 KOs).
In the opening bout, lightweight Charlie Sheehy, of Brisbane, California, knocked out Houston’s D'Angelo Keyes in the sixth round. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes and 29 seconds.
Sheehy, 27, dropped Keyes in the second round with a left hook to the body. In the sixth round, Sheehy dropped the 28-year-old Reyes with an overhand right.
Sheehy improved to 12-0 (7 KOs), while Keyes slipped to 18-7 (11 KOs).
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
