Mikiah Kreps made a statement to the 122-pound division.

The unbeaten contender defeated former titleholder Mayerlin Rivas by unanimous decision Friday night at the Seneca Niagara Hotel and Casino in Kreps’ hometown of Niagara Falls, New York. Scores were 79-73, 78-74, and 77-75 for Kreps, who improved to 9-0, 3 knockouts.

From the opening bell, Kreps attempted to walk down Rivas, who maintained her distance by utilizing her jab. Kreps increased her aggression the following round, and the tactic worked, as she was able to land more combinations against Rivas, who backed up against the ropes, but did little to keep Kreps off of her.

Rivas attempted to work the body of Kreps during round four, finding some success, but that did not deter Kreps from fighting on the front foot.

Kreps began throwing and landing more left hooks to Rivas’ head in round six. Whether it was a lead or counter, Kreps landed continues with hooks to the head, forcing Rivas to retreat towards the ropes.

Sensing Rivas might be ready to go and attempting to score a knockout win, Kreps went all out during the final round. She went at Rivas with full aggression during the last 30 seconds, but was not able to score a knockdown or knockout.

The victory by Kreps was impressive as Rivas posed as a major step-up opposition at this stage in her career. The win could put Kreps in the top-5 rating by The Ring at 122 pounds.

In her previous fight on May 10, Kreps defeated Melissa Oddessa Parker by unanimous decision. On November 7, Kreps defeated Isis Vargas Perez by decision over eight competitive rounds.

The 28-year-old was an amateur standout, including placing first at the 2018 Elite National Championships, a bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships, and was the No. 1 ranked amateur in USA Boxing. She is co-managed by former WBO world lightweight titleholder Jamel Herring and Jerry Cazarez and co-promoted by Lou DiBella and Tuto Zabala, Jr.

Rivas, who resides in Caracas, Venezuela, fell to 17-6-3, 11 KOs. In her previous fight on November 18, Rivas lost the WBA junior featherweight title via majority decision to Erika Cruz.

The 36-year-old Rivas has won world title belts in two different weight classes.

In the co-main event, lightweight Wilfredo Flores defeated Gerffred Ngayot by majority decision. One judge scored the bout 75-75, while the other two judges scored the bout 77-73 for Flores, who snapped a three-bout losing streak.

Flores (11-3-1, 5 KOS) dropped Ngayot twice in round four, which was the difference between a win and a majority decision draw. The 34-year-old Flores was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and now lives in North Tonawanda, New York.

Ngayot, who is originally from Brazzaville, Congo and now lives and trains in nearby Buffalo, falls to 7-3, 6 KOs.

Junior featherweight prospect Alexander Castellano, who also resides in North Tonawanda, improved to 11-1-2, 2 KOs, defeating Dominique Griffin (5-8-2, 2 KOs) of Irving, Texas by majority decision. One judge scored the bout 77-77, while the other two judges scored the bout 78-76 for Castellano.

Griffin was deducted a point in round four for throwing and landing low blows, of which he had been warned for in previous rounds.,

The card streamed live on ESPN Knockout.

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]

Follow @FSalazarBoxing