Urbina On Fujioka Fight: “You’re Gonna See A Ferocious Sulem Urbina”

Sulem Urbina Ready to Take the Belt From Naoko Fujioka

Sulem Urbina, WBA Womens Flyweight champion Naoko Fujioka
Sulem Urbina (left), Naoko Fujioka

Sulem Urbina Promises She Will Be At Her Best Against WBA Women’s Flyweight Champ Naoko Fujioka


Sulem Urbina (12-1, 2 KOs) is a woman on a mission. On July 9, the 30-year-old from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico will face Naoko Fujioka (18-2-1, 7 KOs) for the WBA Women’s World Flyweight title at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

It’s her first world title shot. However, this fight comes on the heels of a setback. In her last fight, Urbina suffered the first defeat of her professional career against former amateur rival Marlen Esparza in October of 2020.

During an exclusive interview with 3KingsBoxing, Urbina discussed what went wrong against Esparza.

“I take my loss like I do my wins, with my head held high. There are no excuses here. She won, I lost, she was the better fighter that night.

I still analyze the mistakes I made. In camp, I wanted it a bit too much. I overworked myself a bit, I couldn’t recover after the weigh-in. It’s not an excuse. Like I said, she won fair and square.

Also, once the fight started, I just went in there and wanted to rip her head off. I have good boxing skills, but I didn’t use any of them.”

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS

Urbina is looking to learn from that experience as she prepares for the biggest fight of her career. This includes a change in her training regime. Muscular for a women’s flyweight, she felt physically thinned out and cut it too close for her last couple of fights. Believing it affected her in the ring, she has hired Miguel De La Rosa as her strength and conditioning coach to help prepare for Fujioka.

The defending champion is as experienced and accomplished as they come. The 45-year-old from Osaki, Miyagi, Japan has previously won world titles at 105, 108, 115, and 118 pounds. Urbina described the 45-year-old from Osaki, Miyagi, Japan as an entertaining fighter who likes to press the action and do whatever she has to in order to win. However, the challenger is more than ready to go. She promises to be at her top level on July 9.

“You’re gonna see a ferocious Sulem Urbina. So get excited, it’s going to be a great night and I can’t wait.”

By: Michael Wilson Jr.

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About Mike W.1943 Articles
Mike is the host of boxing podcast "Pound 4 Pound Boxing Report" and is a Senior Writer for 3kingsboxing.com.