Wilfredo Mendez is nearing a possible world title shot.
Mendez, rated No. 7 by The Ring at 105 pounds, defeated Jesus Haro by unanimous decision Saturday night before an announced sold-out crowd at the Coliseo Ruben Zayas in Mendez’s hometown of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. Scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112 for Mendez, who improved to 19-3-1, 6 knockouts.
“It’s been about three and a half years since I’ve fought 12 complete rounds and I felt fine, stamina-wise,” said Mendez after the fight. “My opponent is very awkward because we know each other and he’s short. He fought much shorter to avoid being punched to the body, but Thank God, I was able to connect many to make sure I won those rounds.
“My goal is to give Puerto Rico another world champion and then unify against whoever is available. I want to thank Haro for coming to fight in Puerto Rico and making this a great fight before my people. I appreciate him and I hope he is able to fulfill his goals in the future.”
A WBA regional title belt was on the line, along with the No. 1 ranking. The current WBA world titleholder is Thammanoon Niyomtrong of Thailand, who is also known as Knockout CP Freshmart, and is rated No. 4 by The Ring.
Mendez believes he can again win a world title belt.
“In his home or in mine, I will be ready to give the best of myself and give Puerto Rico more gold in boxing,” said Mendez.
The 27-year-old previously fought on October 7, fighting to a technical decision draw against ArAr Andales. On April 16 of last year, Mendez was knocked out by Yudai Shigeoka, who recently lost the WBC world title to Melvin Jerusalem.
Mendez won the WBC world title in August 2019, defeating Vic Saludar by unanimous decision. He would make two successful defenses before being stopped by Masataka Taniguchi in December 2021.
Haro, who resides in Reno, Nevada, falls to 11-2, 1 KO. Haro had not fought since a knockout win over Gabriel Ponce on August 5. His only defeat, by split decision, occurred in his pro debut in March 2020.
The Mendez-Haro fight headlined a card promoted by LA 22 Sports.
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 santio89@yahoo.com
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