WBC titlist Tina Rupprecht Held to a Draw by Mexico’s Maricela Quintero
By Phil Woolever
In the women’s ranks, maybe you can call last Saturday night’s tied up tussle just north of Munich something like kissing your brother.
The competitive but unspectacular tie verdict was one step forward, one step back for both fighters.
Still, beyond the local heroine’s nickname, there was nothing “tiny” about Maricela Quintero‘s challenge of popular WBC minimumweight champion Tina Rupprecht.
The result was actually a huge discrepancy as the judges tabbed almost a ten-point swing of disagreement in what they observed, and a reasonable case could be made for each assessment.
It was that kind of bout, and it wasn’t too pretty. Referee Daniel Van de Wiele issued multiple warnings for minor infractions and had to pry the contestants apart all night long.
Overall, there was more mauling than brawling. It was a tough battle, but nothing really grand to watch. The animated “La Baby” Quintero, 105 ¾, entered what was basically the champion’s home court looking calm and confident.
Quintero, 18-4-2 (2), hasn’t lost since she retired against Ibeth Zamora Silva for WBC light flyweight honors back in 2013. All Quintero’s previous fights were in Mexico, so it’s safe to assume she knows how to rumble.
As the contest began, Rupprecht, 104, now 9-0-1 (3), missed with multiple overhand rights while Quintero pushed a jab from wherever she stood whether she was in range or not. Rupprecht kept backing her up but didn’t score with much. Quintero landed a good right counter early but other than that Rupprecht kept her gloves near her face and covered up well as she remained busier.
Rupprecht stayed aggressive but nobody landed very cleanly as they engaged in close. There was plenty of contact but not many sharp punches. Each woman looked frustrated by the other’s style.
A punch stat tally would not have been kind.
By the halfway point they had wrestled almost as much as they’d boxed. Quintero often displayed slicker style but you couldn’t say she was more effective at all.
Rupprecht got on her toes and seemed to settle down during the second half but she still couldn’t take control. Her face looked tender after the 8th, but both fighters were relatively unmarked at the conclusion.
WBC open scoring clearly signaled that overall, Rupprecht was ahead early. Quintero looked more composed down the stretch and she salvaged the contest in the final frames.
Andreas Stenberg scored it even at 95-95, while Irene Kostenko favored Rupprecht 98-92 and Guido Cavalleri saw it 97-94 for Quintero. Prizefighters unofficial card agreed with the draw.
“It was a tough fight like I knew it would be,” Rupprecht told the crowd from the ring afterward (in basic translation). “I have no problem doing a rematch.”
There were no apparent disputes about the result from either camp, and the crowd didn’t have anything to complain about either.
(Photo by Presse Augsburg)