Seniesa Estrada successfully captures the WBA World Minimumweight title
After ten rounds of brisk action, Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada (20-0, 8 KO’s) took hold of the WBA World Minimumweight title by way of unanimous decision. The former champion, Anabel Ortiz (31-4, 4 KO’s), made a good account of herself but could not overcome the storm of Estrada’s switch-hitting offense. Going in, Ortiz had held the title for 7 years and was attempting her thirteenth title defense.
The win inches Super Bad one step closer to achieving her dream of claiming world titles in the minimum, junior fly and flyweight divisions. It only seems appropriate that she started on the ground floor and picked up the 105-pound belt first.
Although, dueling a world champion was lightyears away from her last opponent. Realistically speaking, the quality of her opposition was not Estrada’s fault. Her original adversary, Jacky Calvo, abruptly withdrew from the fight after sustaining a knee injury. That is when the grossly unprepared Miranda Adkins was shoveled into the empty slot. On fight night, Adkins might as well have been a meek leashed goat at Jurassic Park. With the clang of the opening bell, Super Bad charged, ravaged and concussed Adkins in less than ten seconds. When the brutality was over, she lay dazed and sprawled out under the bottom rope as if recently struck with a pipe.
THE BULLY?
In the aftermath of the trouncing, Estrada was labeled something of villain. The Californian was essentially being colored as a bully picking on overmatched fighters. Super Bad maintains she had no real control over who ended up in the ring with her that night. She was merely there to do her job. When looking at her past, Estrada came up honest. She earned a solid reputation for herself on the Californian amateur fighting circuit. Before turning pro, at 17, Estrada racked up a 97-4 amateur record, was a two-time Junior Olympic National Champion and USA National champion.
To further disprove the bully stigma, in the fight prior to Adkin, Super Bad squared off with amateur and professional rival Marleen Esparza. At the time of their collision, Esparza was undefeated. Super Bad would go on to outclass and outwork Esparza en route to a ninth round technical decision. The bout was ultimately stopped due to a ghastly cut Espraza had torn open in the center of her forehead.
WINNING IN STYLE
The fight opened with Estrada being the aggressor. Adopting a crouched-over style that brought Vic Darchinyan to mind, Super Bad went straight after Ortiz. While enthusiastic, Estrada had not found her range and missed with a number of very wide hooks. Her superior footwork also immediately stood out.
In the second ,Estrada continued her assault and was having success until a counter-right hook briefly tamed her. Shortly after eating the thudding shot, Super Bad put Ortiz down with a crunching straight right on the chin. The action was fairly even in the third. The Californian easily took the fourth round.
It would be inaccurate to say that the champion was wilting but Estrada definitely kicked it up a notch whereas Ortiz remained in the same gear. Early in the period, she caught Ortiz in the corner and hammered her body with three consecutive left hooks. Due to Estrada throwing so many punches, Ortiz was able to thread effective single shots through. Yet she could not maintain offensive consistency. By the sixth round, both of the champions eyes were swelling badly and there was a fat hickey on her forehead.
In the seventh, Estrada slowed her attack and became more methodical. For the majority of the period, she allowed Ortiz to lead and counter punch. The strategy worked well because the champion was slowing down and becoming increasingly available to Super Bad’s offense. Estrada continued being shifty, switching-hitting and strafing Ortiz with an endless array of punches to the head and torso. This mode of operation persisted until the final bell. When the scorecards were read, Seniesa Estrada won a wide unanimous decision.
By: Bakari Simpson
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