Seniesa ”Superbad” Estrada became undisputed minimumweight champion with a unanimous points victory over Yokasta Valle on Friday in Glendale, Arizona.

Estrada, from East Los Angeles, went into the contest as the holder of the WBA and WBC belts, and added Valle’s WBO and IBF belts after 10 hard-fought and tough-to-score rounds, in which the American rode her unconventional, stance-shifting style to victory following a build-up that had frequently been personal and ill-tempered.

All three judges handed in identical scores of 97-93.

Estrada (26-0, 9 KOs) came out behind looping lead southpaw right hooks as Valle (30-3, 9 KOs), of Costa Rica, sought to work behind her more conventional jab. Estrada spent the first round – and indeed much of the fight – switching constantly between southpaw and orthodox stances, and throwing long, wide punches to keep Valle out of range. For the first two frames, Valle – who ended the first round with a nasty cut over her right eye following an accidental clash of heads – struggled to get to grips with Estrada’s awkwardly effective style.

Beginning in the third round, however, Valle started to find more success. She found a home for her straight right hand, catching Estrada repeatedly switching between stances. By the sixth, Estrada had regained her momentum, using her footwork to slip Valle’s punches, stay out of range and counter from distance as Valle chugged after her, blood streaming down her face.

By the ninth, Estrada appeared so comfortable that she at one point mimicked waving a bullfighter’s cape. She did not fight with anything resembling the elusiveness of a matador, nor did her slippery style appear even close to dominating her opponent as comprehensively as Estrada seemed to think. But it was proving successful, and as the two fighters prepared to come out for the final round, Valle trainer Gloria Alvarado implored her charge to make the 10th round a war.

Valle did her best to oblige, forcing Estrada backward and landing a succession of right hands that had the crowd on its feet. But while her offense won Valle that round, it was not enough to salvage the fight, with ringside officials preferring Estrada’s elusiveness and counterpunching to Valle’s comparatively straightforward style.