Sergio Mendoza just pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year, stopping Ricardo Sandoval by TKO in the fifth round tonight to claim both the WBC and WBA flyweight titles. This wasn’t just a win, man, this was a statement from a 26-year-old who stepped into a huge situation and absolutely delivered, unifying world championships and having one of the greatest nights of his young life.
The Layoff and The Switch That Led to Disaster
Let’s be real, this was a tough night for Sandoval, but you gotta look at how he got here. Sandoval, who hadn’t fought in a brutal 15 months, needed a fight, needed to defend his belts. He was originally set to face Oscar Collazo, a smaller 5’2″, 105 lb champ coming up two divisions. That’s a specific opponent you train for. Then Collazo pulls out with an injury, and Sandoval is suddenly staring down Mendoza, who stands 5’8″ and is a natural flyweight. Talk about a jarring change in opponent. You combine that with a year-and-a-quarter layoff, and honestly, you had the makings of trouble right there. Mendoza was patient, saw his opening, and he just took full advantage. Sandoval went down three times in total. He tried to fight back after a couple of second-round knockdowns, even looked sharp in the fourth, but then Mendoza caught him again. Boom, fight over. Mendoza, now 28-1 with 24 KOs, showed up huge, while Sandoval dropped to 27-3 with 18 KOs.
Under The Lights: Other Rising Stars on the Card
Before that wild main undercard, we saw some other action. Jahmal Harvey continued to impress, taking out Pedro Castaneda by TKO in the third round. This dude, Harvey, he’s 5-0 with 4 KOs now, and he just keeps looking sharper and sharper. He’s got that one-shot power, but also some finely tuned skills from his amateur days. He’s absolutely a prospect to be excited about at 135 pounds, a seriously good get for his team. Then there was Jan Paul Rivera, who scored a solid unanimous decision win over Abraham Perfecto with scores of 99-89 across the board. The 25-year-old Rivera, now 17-0 with 7 KOs, might not be a huge puncher, but he throws a ton of hands, stays active, and just has a pleasant style that’s easy to watch. Perfecto got dropped once, Rivera was penalized a point, but it was still a clean sweep.
Tonight’s main event is still to come, with Floyd Schofield and Lucas Bahdi hitting the ring for the vacant WBA lightweight title. Both guys have been inactive this year, but they’re stepping in for the biggest fight of their careers. You can catch all the action on DAZN, live from Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Who’s gonna walk away with that belt, man? This is it!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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