Seniesa Estrada Grabs Fourth Straight KO and Sulem Urbina Wins Too in Tijuana

By David A. Avila

A night that could have been majestic ended up falling a little flat.

Expectations of watching Seniesa Estrada defend the WBC Silver light flyweight title were dismissed by Zanfer Promotions and DAZN who opted to show local house fighters instead on Saturday night in Tijuana.

But at least one female fight was streamed as Sulem Urbina defeated fellow Mexican Judith Rodriguez in a six round flyweight match at Auditorio Municipal. But Saturday night could have brought much more.

East L.A.’s Seniesa Estrada (16-0, 6 KOs) was passed over by the host Mexican promoter who did not allow her knockout win against Venezuela’s Yenifer Leon (9-2, 6 KOs) to be included on the streamed DAZN package.

“We were told we were going to be streamed,” said Joe Estrada the father of Seniesa Estrada. “First we were told to get ready at 1p.m. then 4 p.m. and then after the main event.”

It was Seniesa Estrada’s first defense of the WBC Silver title she won by knockout this past November in nearby Mexicali, Mexico over Venezuela’s Debora Rengifo. This time she was facing another Venezuelan in Leon who had recently fought for the WBA minimum weight world title and lost by decision. She had never been stopped.

Despite the waiting and misinformation by the local promoter Zanfer Promotions, the East L.A. fighter stayed ready and eager to show domination. When her time arrived she was more than prepared.

“She knocked her down with a left hook,” said Joe Estrada about Seniesa’s knockdown of Leon in the first round of their title fight. “After that she went to the body.”

Estrada attacked the body for five rounds and had Leon painfully holding one side of her body. After the culmination of the fifth round, Leon did not want to return to the fight and the referee signaled Estrada was the winner by technical knockout at the end of the fifth round.

“You could hear the other corner telling their fighter she doesn’t want any more, but she just shook her head,” said Joe Estrada.

Seniesa Estrada has a unique fighting style that often proves perplexing for opponents. She switches from orthodox to southpaw seamlessly and can fire power shots from almost any angle.

In her last two years Estrada has strung together four consecutive knockout wins. She added another on Saturday night when Leon refused to come out for the sixth round. The win by Estrada keeps her in line for a possible world title shot.

Sulem

Sulem Urbina (9-0) remained undefeated with a consistent effort to defeat the always competitive Judith Rodriguez (8-14) by unanimous decision after six rounds in a flyweight match up.

Urbina, 28, fights out of Phoenix, Arizona and immediately used her speed and agility to jump out in front of the slower but vastly experienced Rodriguez.

“I knew from the start it would be a crowd pleaser,” said Urbina. “I knew I had a long night ahead of me because she’s fought the best girls in my division.”

The speed and defense by Urbina was on point as the first four rounds saw the former Mexican amateur standout connect, slip return fire and connect again. It was a well-planned recipe.

“I felt I was faster, stronger, my head movement was there as well as my footwork,” said Urbina who is originally from Hermosillo, Mexico.

But after the fourth round as Urbina slowed slightly Rodriguez began finding the range and was able to finally connect. Before that, Urbina was mostly untouched and was able to control every round with counters and combination punching.

The final two rounds were the most competitive, but Urbina showed more accuracy and was very effective with her combinations. The uppercuts were her most effective blows until she tired a bit.

Rodriguez, 37, fights out of Mexico City and has fought multiple world champions including Zulina Munoz, Shindo Go and Daniela Bermudez. Despite the superior competition Rodriguez has never been stopped. She was not about to go down against Urbina either and made good adjustments. But Urbina’s fast start was too much to overcome for anyone. The judges scored the fight 60-54 twice and 59-55 for Urbina.

It was another good performance by Urbina who continues to improve to the pro style.

“It was an exciting fight,” said Urbina. “I still have to keep working to improve. This is just the beginning.”