Other Title Fights From Around The World
Today, boxing world title fights take place around the globe and are more accessible to watch than ever before. Sometimes, however, certain championship bouts do not receive as much attention and go underreported. Big Fight Weekend has a commitment to writing about boxing news, previews, and recaps. As such, the site now has a recurring segment on world title bouts from around the world from the past week. It will recap fights that have not already been covered by the site, with a specific focus on clashes ranging from atomweight to heavyweight that had the WBA, WBC, IBF, and/or WBO titles on the line.
Today’s edition of “Other Title Fights From Around The World” consists of two recaps. The first is a Golden Boy event that took place in Costa Rica and the other is a fight promoted by none other than Don King himself.
Yokasta Valle-Anabel Ortiz recap
Yokasta Valle (30-2, 9 KOs) made a successful defense of her WBO and IBF minimumweight titles with a unanimous decision win over Anabel Ortiz (33-6, 4 KOs). Scores for this bout were 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92. The fight headlined an event at the Polideportivo de Cartago in Costa Rica, Valle’s home country. Viewers could catch the action on DAZN and on the YouTube using the stream below (fight begins just after the two-hour mark).
Ortiz began the clash aggressively but Valle was able to effectively deal with the aggression. A consistent jab allowed Valle to set up a number of combinations. For the most part, she chose to slug it out with Ortiz. As the fight neared its conclusion, Ortiz did what she could to get the better of Valle. However, Valle continued dominating until the very end.
Following the bout, Valle expressed her desire for an undisputed clash with Seniesa Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs). Estrada currently holds the WBA and WBC titles. Whether such a fight materializes remains to be seen.
Noel Mikaelyan-Ilunga Makabu recap
Noel Mikaelyan (27-2, 12 KOs) became the latest WBC cruiserweight champion with a third round stoppage of Ilunga Makabu (29-4, 25 KOs). Referee Gene Del Bianco waved the fight off at the 1:00 mark. The bout headlined a Don King Productions card at the Casino Miami Jai Alai in Florida, USA. Viewers were able to watch the event as a PPV on FITE TV.
🆕👑 Noel Mikaelian is your NEW WBC World Cruiserweight Champ, stopping Ilunga Makabu in the third round.
Should Makabu consider retirement?#MikaelianMakabu | Catch the event on-demand on @FiteTV ] pic.twitter.com/8dC3VSfiyo
— FITE (@FiteTV) November 5, 2023
Makabu went to the canvas for the first time in the fight during the second round. He got up but continued to get hit from clean, hard shots from Mikaelyan. Around the halfway mark of round three, Mikaelyan countered Makabu with a right hand. Mikaelyan continued to land until Makabu dropped to the canvas for a second time. Although Makabu got up, the referee waved the fight off.
There was some concern that the fight would not go ahead as planned when Makabu missed the final press conference due to visa issues. He landed in Miami just two days before the clash, ensuring the bout went ahead as planned.
Currently writing out of Toronto, Canada, Saadeq first became a boxing fan while living in Doha, Qatar. Looking to become more involved in the sport, he began writing about boxing and has had work published in outlets such as Seconds Out and Boxing Social. He looks forward to continue covering boxing on Big Fight Weekend.
