Yokasta Valle Easily Defeats Lorraine Villalobos To Retain IBF Title!
IBF minimumweight champion Yokasta Valle (25-2, 9KOs) put her title on the line for the fifth time when she took on Lorraine Villalobos (5-4, 2KOs). The Costa Rican has been a champion since August of 2019 when she defeated Joana Pastrana by split decision. Fighting for the first time in America, she looked to impress.
Before her bout with Villalobos, she made it clear that if victorious, she wanted to face the other champions in her division. That includes WBO champ Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi (5-0, 1KO), as well as WBA champion and 2021 3kingsboxing Female Fight of the Year, Seniesa Estrada (22-0, 9KOs).
As for her opponent, not much was known about Villalobos. In her nearly four-year career, she’s fought eight times, losing three. Her last fight came against Alexis Martinez back in September of 2021, where she won a unanimous decision. Prior to that, she fought and lost to Louisa Hawton in December of 2019.
Interestingly enough, she dropped Hawton in what was a rematch of their December 2018 fight in where Villalobos was stopped in five rounds. She became a last minute replacement for Valle and wasn’t expected to achieve much more than keeping the champ active.
VALLE SHOWS SHE’S SUPERIOR!
The opening round was filled with jabs from both women as they looked to establish the right distance to set up their offense. A close round that could’ve gone to either fighter.
However, after round one, it was all Valle. The IBF champion quickly pulled away with her superior boxing skills mixed with smart aggression and pressure. The quicker fighter threw the kitchen sink at Villalobos. Every punch Valle threw was set up by her left jab.
In the middle rounds, the champion started her early “Fourth of July” festivities as she lit Villalobos up! With left hooks to the head and body, followed up by her very accurate right hook, not only was Valle the better-skilled fighter, she was the better-conditioned one as well. As the fight went on, her work rate increased as Villalobos’ decreased.
After ten one-sided rounds, Valle was announced as the winner by way of a unanimous decision. The scores were all 100-90.
The next logical move for the IBF champ is undoubtedly a unification with Estrada at some point this year.
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By: Jerrell Fletcher
