The third time was a charm for Nazarena Romero.
A dominant showing by the handed Argentinean resulted in her first title win. Romero powered her way to a tenth round stoppage of Paulette Valenzuela Cuesta in their vacant WBA 122-pound title fight.
Enough power shots forced the stoppage at 0:18 of the tenth round Saturday at Casino Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Romero immediately broke into her customary in-ring dancing, with hugs all around to celebrate the occasion.
Romero (14-0-2, 8 knockouts) fought to back-to-back draws versus Mayerlin Rivas and Erika Cruz in separate WBA title bids. Cruz was stripped of the belt after their May 11 bout due to a positive drug test for Stanozolol. The WBA initially ordered a Romero-Rivas rematch but it was Valenzuela Cuesta who entered the equation for the vacant title fight.
Fittingly, it landed on the two-day annual WBA KO Drugs Festival.
Romero never relented in their scheduled ten-round bout. Her incredible engine and power shots were too much for Valenzuela Cuesta to weather. Romero launched power shots down the middle and from wide angles throughout their fight.
The wear and tear was evident as Valenzuela Cuesta’s left eye was cut and bruised. Romero also didn’t pardon the body. A left hook set up a series of right hands along the ropes late in round eight.
Romero moved in to close the show in the ninth. A left hook to the body left Valenzuela Cuesta in severe pain just before the bell but made it out of the round.
Her luck would run out the moment the bell sounded to start the tenth and final round.
Another left hook downstairs forced Valenzuela Cuesta’s back leg to kick out. She managed to stay on her feet but Romero immediately followed up on the attack. A flurry along the ropes was enough to force referee Roberto Ramirez to stop the contest.
Valenzuela Cuesta (17-4, 4 KOs) is now 0-2 in major title fights, She previously suffered a decision defeat to Segolene Lefebvre in their Nov. 2021 WBO 122-pound title fight.
The celebration immediately began for the happy-go-lucky Romero. She danced to the tune of La Bouche’s “Be My Lover” blaring overhead as the belt was strapped around her waist.
Romero’s last four wins have all ended inside the distance, this marking her first beyond the fourth round.
The headlining act saw Jose Aguero (12-0, 7 KOs) claim a fifth-round knockout of Jorge Luis Martinez (17-4-1, 11 KOs). A barrage of punches left Martinez defenseless to force the stoppage at 2:56 of round five in their regional junior lightweight title fight.
Also on the card, Ruben Nestor Neri Muñoz (16-2, 12 KOs) picked up a career-best tenth-round knockout of unbeaten Chann Thonson. Muñoz floored Thonson (16-1, 13 KOs) twice in the ninth and forced the stoppage at 0:35 of the tenth and final round in their lightweight contest.
Jaquan Carty (7-0, 5 KOs) outpointed local prospect Brian Matias Perez (5-1, 2 KOs). Scores were 77-75, 77-75 and 79-73 for Carty, a Toronto-born middleweight based in Atlanta
The show took place as part of the WBA’s 31st annual KO Drugs festival, an event which dates back to 1991 in Venezuela. The event is means to combat the flood of drugs and its influence on unsuspecting youth throughout South America. Boxing became a part of the program in 1993.
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