Mucino Gets Pass Sandoval, Robles Stops Vargas
TECATE, MEXICO-Three-time world champion Areli “Amatralladora” Mucino (23-3-2, 10KO) struggled but was able to squeeze out a technical decision over late-sub Kandy Sandoval (9-8, 2KO) of Xochimilco, Mexico, in a super flyweight 10-rounder in the main event of a Zanfer Promotions fight card on Saturday.
The bout marked the 27-year-old Mucino’s first fight of the year and the second under the banner of her new promoter Zanfer. It was televised live in Mexico by Azteca network and held at Tecate Municipal Auditorium.
From the onset of 2017 Mucino has stated she is ready to go for history and capture the WBO flyweight title this year, the only belt she needs to get on her waist from the four major sanctioning bodies. Mucino has held the WBC, IBF and WBA straps at flyweight.
Originally Mucino was scheduled to face Japan’s Shindo Go in a rematch but for unannounced reasons Go was scratched and Sandoval was slated in her place.
The much more experienced Mucino began the bout well, using her waist and head movement to get inside and score with hard hooks to the body coupled with hooks to the head. Sandoval, the taller of the two, was not discouraged and quickly began to utilize her jab more and catching Mucino as she was coming in.
Things began to get heated as Mucino began to have the same plan as in the opening rounds to get on the inside while Sandoval picked up steam in the fifth with both scoring heavy shots during the two-minute round. The pace continued until the eighth when Mucino’s conditioning began to show as Sandoval slowed down. Looking for a breather, Sandoval spit out her mouthpiece during the round that seemed intentional to referee Christian Curiel and thus punished her by deducting a point.
By this time despite Mucino being the busier of the two but Sandoval had scored the more telling shots that showed on the ex-champ’s face. With a bleeding nose and a slight cut over her left eye Mucino kept battling on.
As the action continued in the ninth an accidental head butt opened up a huge gash over the right eye of Mucino. Curiel asked for the opinion of the ringside doctor who deemed it unsafe to continue and suggested for the bout to be stopped to which Curiel complied.
After nine rounds, all three judges scored it for Mucino with wide margins of 90-80, 88-84 and 87-83 in a fight that seemed much closer. The Tecate crowd let their disapproval known as they booed the decision and Mucino in her post-fight interview with the Azteca channel.
“Unfortunately there was the accidental head butt and I got the worst of it,” Mucino stated after. “The fight was a good one, I felt I had the momentum, we got the win and I asked my promoter to get me the WBO title fight.”
The title is held by Japan’s Nana Yoshikawa (7-1, 4KO).
Perla Negra
In the other female bout on the card, Tijuana’s junior flyweight Sandra “Perla Negra” Robles (17-2, 9KO) scored her sixth win in a row against another over matched opponent in Mexico City’s Maria Soledad Vargas (4-2).
Robles is being built up for another shot at a world title, this time in the 108-pound division, after getting stopped by arguably the best straw weight in the world and WBA champ Anabel “Avispa” Ortiz in September of 2015.
Vargas, a natural 105-pounder, biggest claim to fame was a win in a regional tournament in her native Mexico City and was on a two-fight win streak.
Robles proved to be just experienced and strong for the younger Vargas as she pummeled her with her relentless southpaw come-forward style. That coupled with an injured left hand forced the Mexico City fighter not to come out for the fifth round of a scheduled six.