COMMERCE, California – Yokasta Valle retained her IBF and WBO 105-pound titles on Saturday, outboxing and outworking a very tough Maria Santizo on the undercard of the William Zepeda-Mercito Gesta main event at Commerce Casino.

Santizo (11-3, 6 KOs), of Guatemala, connected solidly in the opening seconds of the fight, even causing the Costa Rican star to stumble, but Valle (28-2, 9 KOs) returned the favor in the closing seconds of the Round 1 as she tagged Santizo with a hard right.

Valle and Santizo didn’t take a step back in Round 2, fighting at a fast pace. The 31-year-old veteran connected with straight shots in Round 3, timing Santizo with the jab and one-two combinations as the challenger lunged forward. Santizo stood her ground in the fourth, but the champ kept digging in and outworking her. There was no holding back from the tough Guatemalan in the fifth as Santizo remained in Valle’s face, making the champ work.

In Round 6, Valle landed a solid right that wobbled Santizo. That did not stop Santizo from trying to rally in the seventh. Neither fighter appeared to fade as the fast pace – and wild exchanges – continued into the late rounds.

Those sharp rights are finding home for @YokaValle. #ZepedaGesta pic.twitter.com/iOIB6QxVuS

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 17, 2023

In the tenth and final round, Valle pressed and let her hands go as Santizo fought conservatively, keeping her distance from the champ.
The judges scored the bout 100-90, 99-91, and 99-91 for Yokasta.

On the undercard, which was streamed live on DAZN and Golden Boy Promotion’s YouTube channel, light heavyweight prospect Darius Fulghumof stopped Ricardo Luna in two rounds.

There was a clash of heads early in the opening round and Luna (25-10-2, 16 KOs) was cut on top of his head. Fulghum (7-0, 7 KOs) was composed and worked behind his jab. As the blood flowed from Luna’s cut onto his face, Fulghum dropped the Mexico City journeyman, who got up but was in no condition to continue.

Middleweight prospect Eric Priest, of Wichita Falls, Texas now training out of Las Vegas, won a hard-fought majority decision over Simon “Vikingo” Madsen of Denmark. It was an inside battle early on with Priest (11-0, 7 KOs) and Madsen (13-2, 10 KOs) head-to-head in the center for the first three rounds. Priest and Madsen remained busy into the second half of the scheduled eight-rounder.

In the fifth, Priest landed well as Madsen kept pressing. In the sixth, Priest used his jab to keep the stalking Madsen at bay, and landed first whenever they fought inside. The busier Priest took over the fight in the final two rounds, although Madsen finished strong in the closing seconds of the bout.

Scores were 80-72, 79-73, and 76-76 for Priest, who was recently signed to Golden Boy Promotions.

Other Bouts

Junior lightweight prospect Daniel “Junebug” Garcia (7-0, 5 KOs) of Denver, Colorado won a six-round unanimous shutout decision over Guadalajara’s Erick “Aidahoe” Benitez (4-5, 1 KO).
Junior welterweight Alejandro “Pinpon” Reyes (11-0, 5 KOs) of Mexicali, Mexico scored a majority six-round decision over Roberto Gomez (5-2, 5 KOs) of Mexico City went the distance six rounds.

Mexican Olympian Gael “El Terror” Cabrera (2-0, 1 KO) of Sonora, Mexico won a unanimous four-round shutout decision over Nicaragua’s Juan Centeno (8-9-3, 1 KO).

Making his pro debut, lightweight Jordan Cervantes (1-0, 1 KO) of East Los Angeles put in work over the four-round distance, defeating El Paso, Texas’s Giovanny Meza (0-5) in the opening bout of the Golden Boy Promotions card. All three judges scored the bout 40-36.

Follow Miguel on Twitter @MigMaravilla

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