Hamadouche stops Sanchez in a bloody affair
By Diego Morilla
In a spirited affair that was probably worthy of a bigger date than a Thursday night, Maiva Hamadouche made the second defense of her IBF female super featherweight title with a fourth round TKO over a willing but outgunned Anahí Sánchez on May 18th in Paris.
It was an entertaining affair, and as such it was staged in the right place – a circus. The Cirque d’Hiver, a theater-like structure in the round shape of a tent circus, looked like the perfect stage for a boxing match, and the patrons got one of the good ones. The local Hamadouche (16-1, 13 KO) came out swinging and landing at will in the first episode, and even though Argentina’s Sanchez (15-2, 7 KO) took a while to get in the groove of things, she finally came alive towards the end of the first episode to trade some serious leather.
The second round was a good old slugfest, with Sanchez starting on the right foot and trying to catch up with the action, and Hamadouche weathering the early storm to turn the tables on Sanchez towards the end.
Hamadouche finally took full control in a very active third round, in which Sanchez took a standing-eight count after being battered around the ring, resorting from then on to simply try to fend Hamadouche off with her jab and the occasional straight right.
The real trouble for the visitor began in the fourth round, when a head butt opened a small gash on Sanchez’s forehead that just would not stop bleeding. She had serious difficulty trying to see from her left eye from then on, and ended up receiving a standing-eight count towards the end of the round.
The referee allowed the fight to go on briefly but declared a halt to the bout on his own decision and without asking for the advice of the ringside physician, which troubled Sanchez’s corner to the point that they refused to allow her to take part of the ceremonial raising of hands in the center of the ring.
They finally allowed it, and Hamadouche was awarded the victory to defend the title she lifted from Colombia’s Enis Pacheco in this same stage one year earlier, and which she defended against Jennifer Salinas and Milena Koleva back in November and January, respectively. Hamadouche’s only defeat came at the hands of Delfine Persoon in November of 2015.
The previous fights of Sanchez, however, remain a subject of discussion.
She is listed as having defeated an opponent in her native Pergamino back in March, but the fight started a serious controversy when it became apparent that she had not fought Verena Crespo, as the opponent was announced, but rather an unidentified local amateur boxer who obviously lacked the skills to pose a serious challenge to her.
According to sources, Crespo was indeed hired as an opponent, but rejected the purse at the last minute and decided to go on vacation instead. The “opponent” is listed as “unknown in BoxRec.com.