By: Jesús Milano

(April 9th) Felix Parrilla defeated Hegly Mosqueda by unanimous decision on Saturday night to win the World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental America belt at the Phan Zone Sports Center in Hampstead, NH.

The American fighter of Puerto Rican descent won by scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94 to beat the Venezuelan and take the regional belt of the pioneer organization.

Although he had less professional experience, Parrilla showed great maturity to take a victory in a very close fight and continue his undefeated career.

Mosqueda put up a fight with an aggressive train but it was not enough for the South American and he could not counter Parrilla’s work in the ring.

With the win, Parrilla reached 10 in his career, while 8 have been by knockout. Mosqueda left his record at 25 wins, 1 loss and 19 wins before the limit.

By: Jesús Milano

(April 3rd) Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez was named Fighter of the Month by the World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee while Erislandy Lara received the Honorable Mention for the month of March.

The pioneering organization released its rankings for the month of March and with them the individual awards for the month. Ramirez made history by becoming the first world cruiserweight champion in the history of Mexico by defeating Arsen Goulamirian this Saturday night in their fight held in Los Angeles.

The  “Zurdo” won a wide unanimous decision with 118-110 scorecards against an undefeated opponent like the Frenchman and is now the WBA 200 lbs. king.

Also, Lara knocked out Michael Zerafa in just two rounds during their fight in Las Vegas and retained his WBA middleweight crown with his resounding victory. The Cuban showed that at 40 years of age he is still a great fighter and defeated a younger opponent in the mandatory fight.

The rankings of the pioneer organization are published in the corresponding section of the web page and can be reviewed by anyone interested.

By: Luis Vargas

(March 30th) The World Boxing Association celebrates, on March 30, another birthday anniversary of Gilberto Mendoza, president emeritus of the pioneer organization of the boxing world.

Mendoza, a central figure in the history of the WBA, bequeathed to posterity the great work he did, while he was at the helm of the organization, for more than four decades of service in different roles, and an exemplary and moral guide that remains a beacon for hose who are part of the institution created in 1921.

Gilberto Mendoza was born in Barquisimeto on March 30, 1943. From an early age he dedicated himself to baseball and soccer, but it was boxing that caught him until it became the passion that would shape his life. Mendoza graduated from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello as an industrial engineer, and later pursued postgraduate studies in Administration and Organizational Development at the University of Toledo; and specialized in Formal Business Planning processes at the Stanford Research Institute in Palo Alto, California.

As in all facets of his life, Mendoza approaches boxing from his base, as treasurer of the Boxing Commission of Aragua State, in his native Venezuela, invited by his friend and leader Alberto Sarmiento.

The reconnection with his sporting passion, a practice he had paused because of his academic and work commitments, later continued with the leadership of the Aragua Association, and from there he joined the WBA until he was appointed Chairman of the Classifications Committee.

In 1982, he was elected president of the organization, inaugurating a dynamic and fruitful period for the WBA that lasted until 2015. Throughout this period, Mendoza combined his responsibilities in the WBA with his performance in the professional area, also standing out as a union and business leader, politician, philanthropist, and contributing his creative work to organizations such as the Scout Movement of Venezuela.

He bequeathed to the WBA several regulatory texts that were revolutionary for the sport at the time, such as the World Ratings Guidelines, the Procedures Guidelines, the Fight Supervision Guidelines and the Half Point Guidelines, the latter as a tool aimed at preventing unfair scores in boxing. The World Ratings Guidelines, which was established as a standard in the industry, was known as the Mendoza Handbook.

His stamp was felt at historic junctures, when he joined the fight against Apartheid that led the WBA to ban the sanctioning of world championship fights in South Africa, decided at the historic convention in Reno in 1986.

Mendoza was an architect of the WBA’s global structure. During his administration, he promoted the creation of regional organizations such as the North American Boxing Association (NABA), the Latin American Boxing Federation (FEDELATIN), the Caribbean Boxing Federation (FEDECARIBE); the Central American Boxing Federation (FEDECENTRO); the Bolivarian Boxing Federation (FEDEBOL); the Pan-African Boxing Association (PAFBA) and the European Boxing Association, among others.

He also introduced the super champion designation for fighters with 5 successful defenses and the creation of interim titles, among many other programs. But one of his greatest works was undoubtedly the social action program he called KO Drugs, an exercise that integrated sport and education as tools to combat the scourge of drugs and encourage positive values in young people. This initiative, which he promoted in the underprivileged areas of Aragua state, in Venezuela, later became a flagship program of the World Boxing Association worldwide, an effort that has been uninterrupted for three decades.

In short, Gilberto Mendoza was a great leader, but above all, a man of great human quality, supportive, conciliatory, disciplined, rigorous, a friendship champion who marked the sport and its people in many ways throughout a fruitful life, of solid values, of recognized contribution to his society and his time.

Today the WBA today remembers, celebrates and thanks him for the undeniable moral and inspirational legacy for the organization, summarized in his slogan: “We can do it, let’s do it, let’s do it together!”

By: Yesica Palmetta

(March 28th) By the end of April, more precisely on April 20, the World Boxing Association interim welterweight world title will be disputed in the city of Zagreb, Croatia, between Ivana Habazin and Kinga Magyar.

The local boxer, Ivana Habazin, No.1, is the official challenger. While Hungary’s representative, Magyar, is ranked 4th in the rankings.

The unified crowns are held by American Jessica McCaskill, who will fight for the fourth time on May 11 against Lauren Price in the United Kingdom.

The experienced 34-year-old Ivana Habazin has developed her career between welterweight, super welterweight and middleweight since her professional debut on June 25, 2010. She has been champion at 147 by the IBF to then be challenger of Cecilia Braekhus when she lost her titles. In addition, she has been featured in challenges against the likes of Mikaela Lauren, Claressa Shields and Terri Harper.

In the opposite corner will be Kinga Magyar of Hungary, 28, who will be looking for her first big world title shot. After starting her career in professional boxing, she has 14 wins with 6 knockouts and 4 defeats. Magyar has not lost a fight since 2018 which has positioned her to get this opportunity.

Habazin accumulates 22 wins of which 7 have been defined before the limit and 5 setbacks. With this fight, she hopes to be closer to the unification of the black and gold belt.

By: Jesús Milano

(March 20th) Albeiro Paredes and Rodolfo Puentes won their respective bouts last Saturday night during the WBA Future of Colombian Boxing and captured the Fedecaribe belts in their respective categories.

Paredes, a former member of the national team, had a difficult fight against Manuel Gonzalez but he overcame every inconvenience to win by knockout in the fourth round and take the regional belt in the super featherweight category.

Paredes had to recover from a knockdown early in the fight, which was the result of a head butt but was ruled accidental. The 26-year-old fighter was quite dizzy at times but worked with patience and imposed his good boxing to demolish his opponent.

In the case of Puentes, he won the super bantamweight belt with a knockout over Venezuelan Victor Malaver in the very first round. It was a resounding fight for the local, who overwhelmed the visitor and got a quick victory.

The WBA Future showcased great young talents in the ring in Barranquilla, Colombia, and a new edition of this program is expected to take place next April.

By: Yesica Palmetta

(February 26th) At the Casino de Buenos Aires and with the encouragement of her fans, Clara Lescurat kept her World Boxing Association super flyweight title after defeating Mexican Regina Chavez in ten rounds by unanimous decision.

The bout did not have a first round of analysis. Both fighters walked to the center of the ring and immediately started the action. The world champion, who is one of the two Argentinean champions, kept the rhythm of the fight with more speed in attack, trying to keep her opponent out of distance.

On the other hand, the Aztec fighter left a good impression after absorbing well the blows received and keeping up with the rhythm of the fight. Always going forward and managing to land some good punches that led her to stand up until the last round.

Undoubtedly, this has been a profitable experience for the boxer from Mexico who with only 19 years old presented a good opposition against the champion who continues to consolidate her reign and remains undefeated in ten presentations.

The judges’ scorecards: 97-93 / 99-91 and 97-93 marked the victory of Lescurat who after the fight assured to be willing to fight anyone and is waiting for the big challenges.

By: Jesús Milano

(February 26th) Takuma Inoue retained his World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight world belt with a nine-round knockout win over Jerwin Ancajas on Saturday night. The Kokugikan arena in Tokyo, Japan, experienced an atmosphere like no other, and the home fighter shined against an experienced challenger to consolidate his position as champion of the pioneer organization.

Speed and intelligence were key for the champion, who made a perfect fight and was very patient to counter the attacks of an incisive and eager opponent, who pressed throughout the fight.

Inoue took advantage of his speed to fight on the counterattack, made the fight from long distance and also capitalized on the short exchanges thanks to his hand speed.

After dominating most of the fight, in the ninth round he landed a combination that surprised Ancajas. An upper to the stomach that sent him to the canvas with delayed effect and without a chance to recover to decree the victory in his favor.

Inoue made the first defense of his crown and now has a record of 19 wins, 1 loss and 5 knockouts. For his part, Ancajas left his record at 34 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws and 23 knockouts.

By: Jesús Milano

Victor Morales and Luis Reynaldo Nunez will meet on March 16 in a World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight eliminator bout to be held at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Morales and Nunez will feature in a very interesting fight that means a lot to both of them, who want a shot at a world title in the short term.

Morales Jr. is in the best moment of his career after defeating Diego De La Hoya and Edwin Palomares in back-to-back fights. The American of Mexican descent proved he has the quality for big challenges and now he will have a much more important one.

Nunez, a 24-year-old Dominican, has come on strong in the United States and in his most recent bout defeated the previously unbeaten Christian Olivo to send a warning to the fighters in the division and earn this opportunity.

Morales has a record of 19 wins, no losses, 1 draw and 9 knockouts, while Nunez has 19 wins, no losses and 13 knockouts.

By: Jesús Milano

Guadalupe Bautista will travel to Canada to defend her World Boxing Association junior flyweight title on April 27 against local Sara Haghighat Joo. The bout will take place at the Toronto Casino Resort and will be the main event of the night.

Bautista, 35, is the  champion and will try to retain her crown despite being a visitor. The Mexico City native will be making the third defense of her belt, which she won in 2020 when she defeated Nora Cardoza.

In September 2021 she made her first defense defeating Alma Meraz Rodriguez, and her second was against Gabriela Sanchez in 2022. It should be noted that during all that time, Bautista has remained active and making fights, despite the fact that in some of them the belt has not been at stake.

Haghighat Joo is an undefeated fighter who has been going strong since her debut in 2022. A 29-year-old fighter with good technique, she is fast finding herself with a great opportunity and will try to take advantage of her tools and the fact that she is at home to surprise the champion and take the title.

Bautista has a record of 23 wins, 11 losses and 2 draws, in addition to 6 knockouts. Haghighat Joo has 3 wins and is undefeated.

By: Jesús Milano

Nicolas Agustin Vergara became the new World Boxing Association (WBA) Fedelatin Featherweight Champion by knocking out Gerardo Murillo in just two rounds last Friday at the Union Electrica Club in Cordoba, Argentina.

Vergara settled early the fight that was tough on paper but proved his level by scoring a technical knockout in the second round.

The 24-year-old fighter knocked Murillo down with a great combination at the beginning of the round and although his opponent got up, the punishment continued until the referee decided to stop the actions and decreed the technical knockout in favor of Vergara.

The young native of Cordoba improved his record to 7 wins, 6 of them by knockout. Murillo now has a record of 10 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw and 2 knockouts.

By: Jesús Milano

(February 2nd) The new World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight champion, Seigo Yuri Akui, was named Fighter of the Month by the pioneer body.

This Thursday, February 1, the first ranking of the year was published with the individual awards, in which Kenshiro Teraji was also recognized with the Honorable Mention.

Yuri Akui broke Artem Dalakian’s long reign on January 23 by defeating him by unanimous decision in Osaka. The Japanese made a great fight and took away the Ukrainian’s undefeated record to keep the 112-pound belt.

The 28-year-old fighter got cards of 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112 as evidence of his dominance in the ring and thus begins a new path as world champion at this point in his career.

For his part, Teraji had to work hard in one of the best fights of this new year but in the end he got a majority decision against Carlos Cañizales in the same event on January 23. The unified light flyweight champion knocked down the Venezuelan but was also knocked down in the fight, however, he was able to bounce back for a hard-fought victory.

By: Jesús Milano

(February 2nd)

The World Boxing Association (WBA) released its January Female rankings with the individual awards for the month, including Eri Matsuda as Fighter of the Month and Jennifer Miranda as Honorable Mention.

The women’s ranking lists with all the corresponding changes for the month of January are public and can be accessed by journalists, promoters and anyone interested in the organization’s website.

Matsuda stepped into the ring on January 12 in Tokyo to face up to then light minimumweight champion Yuko Kuroki, and managed to snatch the championship with a split decision victory. The 29-year-old fighter was a surprise winner and became champion with an excellent performance and beautiful boxing.

On the other hand, Jennifer Miranda had a dominant performance against Iara Altamirano on January 7, in Madrid, to become the new Gold featherweight champion after a wide victory by unanimous decision. The Spanish fighter left great sensations and was the protagonist in a great event held in the capital to win the WBA belt.

The WBA congratulates both fighters for their awards and wishes them the best in their next challenges in professional boxing.

By: Jesús Milano

(January 31st) The minimumweight mega bout between Seniesa Estrada and Yokasta Valle is official and will take place on March 29 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The announcement was made on Tuesday and will pit both champions face to face to determine the undisputed champion of the division.

Estrada holds the World Boxing Association (WBA) and WBC belts, while Valle holds the IBF and WBO belts.

They are the two best boxers in the division and the world. The bout has been long awaited and now they will finally face each other.

“Superbad”, as Estrada is nicknamed, is 31 years old and last fought on July 28 when she defeated Leonela Paola Yudica by unanimous decision in Las Vegas. The monarch has become one of the most mediatic fighters of today due to her aggressive style and the forcefulness of her boxing, elements that she wants to use to her advantage this time.

Valle is from Costa Rica and is also 31 years old. The Central American has Nicaraguan roots and has grown within boxing with hard work and thanks to her talent. She has not lost a fight since 2018 and is going through the best moment of her career, so the bout with Estrada comes at the ideal time for her.

Seniesa is undefeated in 25 fights, 9 of them won by knockout, while Valle has 30 wins, 2 setbacks and 9 defined before the limit.

By: Jesús Milano

(January 17th) The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee ordered negotiations for the middleweight world title fight between champion Erislandy Lara and his mandatory challenger Michael Zerafa.

The pioneer organization sent the official communication to the parties, which will have from January 15 to February 15 to reach an agreement for this bout.

Erislandy Lara has been champion since May 1, 2021 and the rules state that he must defend against the mandatory opponent after a period of nine months, which expired on February 1, 2022.

For this reason, his fight against Zerafa, who is ranked No. 1 and earned the right to fight for the world title, has been ordered.

In the event that the parties cannot reach an agreement or one of them refuses to do so, the committee may call for an auction under the internal rules of the WBA and with a purse split of 75% for the champion and 25% for the challenger.