Mercado Defends WBC Title Against Ali in Exciting Undercard Bout
On June 29th, WBC junior featherweight champion Yamileth Mercado will defend her title against Ramla Ali at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. This bout will be part of an exciting card headlined by the blockbuster clash between Juan Francisco Estrada and Jesse Rodriguez for the WBC and Ring Magazine junior bantamweight titles.
Mercado Seeks Seventh Title Defense
Mercado (23-3, 5 KOs) will be making the seventh defense of the title she won in November 2019. The long-reigning Mexican fighter is set to compete in the United States for only the second time, having previously faced Amanda Serrano in Cleveland in August 2021. In her last title defense in April, Mercado put on a dominant performance, sweeping all 10 rounds against Linda Laura Lecca in Tijuana. “I’m excited to fight in the United States,” said Mercado. “There are thousands of my countrymen living in Arizona, and I will give them a great fight, Mexican-style. Ramla is a talented fighter, but she won’t take away my goal of unifying all the titles.”
Ali Seeks First World Title
Challenging Mercado is Ramla Ali (9-1, 2 KOs), the first fighter to represent Somalia in the Olympics in 2020. Ali is entering her first world title bout with confidence, having recently avenged her only career loss against Julissa Guzman in November. “It’s hard to articulate how much this means to me,” said Ali. “Being crowned the WBC champion is a lifelong dream I’ve had since I started boxing at 12 years old, and it would finally give me a sense of peace after all the struggles I’ve faced.”
“Yamileth has reigned long as the WBC champion and will surely have the fans on her side in Phoenix, but Ramla has always taken on every challenge head-on, and this will be no different.” – Promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing
In addition to the Mercado-Ali title fight, the June 29th card will feature a clash of former world champions Sunny Edwards and Adrian Curiel, as well as a battle of unbeaten prospects Arturo Cardenas and Danny Barrios.
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