It is not usual to see an undefeated champion retire at 32 years of age, but that’s exactly what future Hall of Famer Seniesa Estrada did this past week, and her exit has not only left the Ring flyweight championship vacant but also an open spot in the pound-for-pound top 10 as well.
After a vote that included candidates such as Savannah Marshall and Lauren Price, finally it was flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora the one who was picked to enter the pound-for-pound list at No. 10, with everyone moving up one spot to fill Estrada’s No. 4 position, surpassing even Ring flyweight champ Gabriela Alaniz, who fights Fundora this coming Saturday.
“Assuming she beats Chucky Alaniz this weekend, which she most definitely should, Fundora is poised to become undisputed 112-pound champion at only 22,” said writer Christopher Benedict in his comment. “A young, tall southpaw who packs a punch, the sky’s the limit for Fundora.”
Beautiful Brawlers’ Lupi Beagle said that “(Fundora) takes the real fights and wins without any doubt,” while TV producer and writer Yesica Palmetta said that “Fundora is an excellent candidate for P4P for her qualities in the ring, her achievements at a young age and for the image she provides as an athlete.”
A byproduct of this debate was a request to move Denmark’s Dina Thorslund up in the pound-for-pound ratings as well.
“Thorslund has defended her title three times this year, whereas Baumgarder has only fought once. Plus, Thorslund is just the better fighter,” argued columnist Mark Jones, with writer and editor Irene Deserti saying that “I also agree that Thorslund should be ranked above Baumgardner. Since her explosive win over Mayer, Alycia hasn’t had particularly compelling matches, whereas Thorslund has maintained a higher level of activity against solid opponents and remains undefeated. She definitely deserves to be ranked higher at this point.”
With the new pound-for-pound lineup done, it was time to move down the list with a few more changes.
Spain’s Jennifer Miranda broke into the featherweight ratings at No. 5 with a win over Teresa Almengor. Although several panelists remain skeptic about her upside, the Spaniard has put up enough numbers on the board to earn the spot, according to the general sentiment.
As stated above, bantamweight champ Dina Thorslund solidified her place as one of the world’s best with another solid win, this time against Japan’s Terumi Nuki. And also at 118 pounds, No. 4 Miyo Yoshida dropped a controversial decision against Shurretta Metcalf, a previous occupant of these ratings. Even though it wasn’t a stellar performance by Metcalf, the result qualified her to reenter the ratings at the expense of Florencia Juarez. Metcalf is now No. 4 as Yoshida slips back to No. 5.
In the strawweight division, Estrada’s exit left the division without a Ring champion. And a quick analysis of the rest of the division indicated that Jessica Basulto had been inactive and needed to be dropped out as well. Argentina’s Sol Cudos was picked to become the new No. 5.
Diego M. Morilla has been writing for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
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