Maybe Miguel Berchelt needed some rest and time away from the ring after all.

The longtime WBC junior lightweight titleholder returned to action in his hometown of Merida, Mexico, on Saturday night, earning a two-round stoppage win over Diego Ruiz at the Polyforum Zam Na.

Berchelt improved to 39-3 (35 knockouts).

From the opening bell, Berchelt was the aggressor, immediately putting Ruiz on the defensive. Mixing his attack behind a jab and throwing lead right hands to the head, Berchelt looked very sharp and determined to make it a short night.

As the bout progressed into the second round, Ruiz backed away, looking overwhelmed and doing little to engage Berchelt.

After the end of the second round, Ruiz complained of an injury to his right hand. After consulting with a ringside physician, the fight was stopped.

“This kind of performance…puts him back in the mix”
– Gabriel Rosado on Miguel Berchelt’s victory#BercheltRuiz | LIVE on our YouTube Channel and DAZN pic.twitter.com/NyRYCukFqi

— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) October 15, 2023

The win over Ruiz was Berchelt’s first fight since March 26 of last year, when he was stopped by Jeremia Nakathila after the sixth round. Berchelt looked sluggish in a fight where he was dropped in the third round. Many boxing insiders called for Berchelt to retire from the sport, considering he had been viciously knocked by Oscar Valdez in his previous fight, losing the WBC world 130-pound title as a result. The 31-year-old Berchelt had made six successful defenses of the belt. 

The win over Ruiz took place at lightweight.

Ruiz, who resides in Las Talitas, Argentina, falls to 24-8-1 (12 KOs). The 29-year-old has lost four of his last five bouts, with that lone win coming against Gamal Yafai on February 18.

The Berchelt-Ruiz fight took place on a card co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Boxing.

In preliminary action, super middleweight Aaron Silva of Monterrey, Mexico, lost by unanimous decision to Emilio Aguillon Castro. Scores were 97-94, 97-94 and 98-93 for Castro, who improved to 8-0-1 (6 KOs). Castro resides in Queretaro, Mexico.

Silva, who recently signed a promotional deal with Golden Boy, dropped to 13-1 (10 KOs). 

In a clash of unbeaten featherweights, Sebastian Hernandez of Tijuana, Mexico, improved to 14-0 (13 KOs), knocking out Monterrey’s Irving Turrubiartes (25-1-1, 15 KOs) in the fifth round. A right cross put Hernandez down and out for the count. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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