Highlights: Estrada beats Rungvisai in rematch to win WBC title

There’s a new WBC super-flyweight champion, and his name is Juan Francisco Estrada.

The WBC super-flyweight title changed hands on Friday night at The Forum in Inglewood, CA.

Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada (39-3, 26 KOs) turned in a virtuoso boxing performance against reigning champion, Thailand’s Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-5-1, 41 KOs), on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Estrada did have to withstand a late rally from Rungvisai, but he built up a massive early lead that not even Rungvisai’s power could dig him out of.

In a rather curious move that could suggest pre-fight injury, Rungvisai opted to fight the majority of the contest from orthodox stance instead of his natural southpaw. Estrada picked Rungvisai apart throughout the first-half of the contest, landing superb combinations and thudding home accurate counter shots. Rungvisai was not as active as he was in the first fight, and Estrada largely walked through his power punches.

It wasn’t until the last several rounds that Rungvisai stuck with southpaw and was tagging Estrada with hard shots, as the Mexican engaged in extended flurries that had the pro-Estrada crowd on its feet. In the end, the surge wasn’t enough and there is a new top dog at 115 lbs after another excellent fight. Estrada was a deserved winner and got revenge on the man who beat him last year by majority decision.

Official result: Juan Francisco Estrada def. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai by unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) to become the new WBC super-flyweight champion

Watch the highlights below. There will be a longer highlights video on Saturday, and you’ll definitely want to see it.

Other results

Danny Roman def. TJ Doheny by majority decision (113-113, 116-110, 116-110) to unify the WBA and IBF super-bantamweight titles

This was a Fight of the Year contender. Roman (27-2-1, 10 KOs) won an action-packed war with Ireland’s Doheny (21-1, 15 KOs) that saw Doheny twice dropped in the bout, but he also had Roman in serious trouble in round seven. It was a high-octane fight that saw the WBA champion Roman take the IBF title away from his opponent. Doheny showed unreal toughness, getting rocked multiple times over to the head and body. His face was a bloody mess, he was felled by a body shot in the penultimate round, but he would not quit.

For the most part, it was a back-and-forth battle until Roman took over towards the final few rounds, particularly through his body work. As you can tell, one judge gave Doheny seven rounds, but the two knockdowns led to a draw.

If you have a DAZN subscription you’ll want to watch the entire bout, because it stole the show.

Jessie Vargas def. Humberto Soto by TKO, 1:48 of round 6

In a 151 lbs catchweight, former welterweight champ Jessie Vargas (29-2-2, 11 KO) engaged in a slugfest with 39-year-old ex-world champion Humberto Soto (69-10-2, 37 KOs). It was more competitive than the oddsmakers suggested it would be, but the much younger and less shopworn Vargas was able to floor Soto in the sixth round with a right hand, then sealed the deal with an onslaught of shots against the ropes to get the standing stoppage. It’s only the third time Soto has been stopped and the second time he’s ever been knocked down. Vargas ends his two-fight stretch of draws with only his second knockout victory in the last ten years.