Diana Fernandez vs Kandy Sandoval in Mexico

Diana Fernandez vs Kandy Sandoval in Juarez, Mexico for WBC International Title

 

By Felipe Leon

 

As veteran Mexican women fighters such as Mariana Juarez, Jackie Nava, Jessica Chavez and Ibeth Zamora among others get a bit older, a new generation of Aztec female warriors are beginning to make a name for themselves.  One of them making quite a bit of noise is Ciudad Juarez native Diana “Bonita” Fernandez.

 

The 24-year-old Fernandez (19-2,4 KOs) is scheduled for her first fight of the year this Saturday night in her hometown against the experienced Kandy Sandoval (10-12, 2KO) of Torreon, Mexico.  The ten-round bout for the vacant WBC International super flyweight title will be the semi-main event broadcast by Mexican mega network Televisa and presented by Promociones del Pueblo.

 

“We know we are facing a very strong opponent” Fernandez said from Mexico City where she holds her training camp sparring with the likes of WBC light flyweight champion Yesenia “Niña” Gomez.  “She is known for her punch and for always looking to brawl.  We’ve had enough time to prepare the strategy to not fall into her plan of making it a street fight.”

 

Diana is the youngest of three who have gone into the punch for pay ranks.  Her older brother Ricardo fought as a welterweight and holds a record of 3-11-4, her older sister Karina is also a flyweight with a record of 12-3-1, 3KOs.  “My sister and I have different styles not only inside the ring but also in personalities.  She has her career and I have mine.”

 

Fernandez went pro in 2013 and quickly strung together 16 straight wins before suffering her first loss.  Fernandez traveled to Argentina in August of 2017 to challenge then IBF 115-pound champion Debora Dionicius for the strap but the Mexican came up short via a unanimous decision.

 

Her only other loss came in her very next fight when she dropped a hotly contested split decision to Lourdes “Pequeña Lulu” Juarez in her home town of Ciudad Juarez in November of the same year. On the strength of that performance Fernandez was signed to Promociones del Pueblo, the biggest supporter of Mexican women’s boxing in the country.

 

Since then Fernandez has been regularly fighting on national TV while putting together three wins in a row.   The first against veteran Noemi “No-No” Bosques got her the vacant WBC Latino title via an eighth round technical knockout early last year.  Two consecutive unanimous decisions against Olga Julio and Leticia Rubio round out the wins.

 

“The fans can expect a great fight,” Fernandez continued.  “I am going to fight intelligently.  I am going to use my foot movement, the people in my hometown know boxing and they expect good fights.  I have a big responsibility to give a great fight and I am working on that.  I want to give them a win via knockout.”

 

“Every time I fight in my hometown of Ciudad Juarez it is a great motivation,” she continued.  “I love to fight here and it shows.  I have a big fight ahead of me against an opponent with experience and who has upset other fighters.”

 

At the final press conference before the fight this Saturday Fernandez shared what her plans would be if her hand would be raised at the end of the night.  “I will fight against whoever my promotor says. I would like to face the super flyweight champion Guadalupe Martinez or the bantamweight champion Mariana ‘Barbie’ Juarez.  In both of those weight categories I feel strong and I want to show that I am ready.  I want to be a world champion and neither one of them are going to stop me.”

 

Besides Bosques and Dionicius, Sandoval, known for her relentless aggressive style, will be the most experienced opponent Fernandez has faced.  Despite having almost the same amount of fights the 38-year-old resident of Mexico City has faced more world-class fighters than Fernandez.

 

“I’m not going to change my style,” Sandoval stated.  “I know I have power and the conditioning to be able to be on top of her the whole night.  I’ve worked on throwing even more punches but of better quality as well.  We’ve worked on not letting go of any opportunities, if we hurt her we have to take advantage. If there is an advantage I have over her is my experience.  A lot of wins have escaped from my hands because I tend to hurt my opponents but not finish them.  This time we aren’t going to make that mistake.”

 

The world champions Sandoval has faced in her 12 year professional career is a who’s who of some of the most well-known Mexican world champions.  She has suffered losses against former champions Zulina “Loba” Muñoz twice, Naoko Yamaguchi and Yazmin Rivas.

 

Jessica Nery Platas and Arely Muciño are the current champions that own wins over Sandoval while Estrella Valverde, Irma Garcia and Lourdes Juarez also have bested her.  Her biggest win has been against Jackie Calvo who she upset in late last year in a split decision win over eight rounds.

 

“I am going to attack,” Sandoval answered when asked for her strategy against her next opponent.  “I’ve seen her fight.  She is very good.  She can move around the whole ring but she doesn’t know how to deal with opponents who pressure her. She is good and we can’t give her any opportunities.  We have to throw punches from the first round and if possible look for the knockout so there is no doubt.”

 

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