Women’s junior bantamweight LeAnna Cruz survived a near disaster, getting off the canvas to defeat Regina Chavez on Friday at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Cruz, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, won a unanimous decision over Chavez, of Iztapalapa, Mexico, via scores of 95-94, 97-92 and 96-93.
The two took little time finding each other, trading leather from the start. Chavez landed a right hand that dropped Cruz to end the opening round, when Cruz also appeared to injure her knee.
In the second round, Chavez continued to land power shots as blood flooded from Cruz’s nose. Cruz rallied in the third, landing solid body shots and turning in her most effective round. The pace slowed in the fourth, with Cruz successfully targeting Chavez’s body.
Chavez took control in the fifth, landing vicious hooks and uppercuts to Cruz’s face. Chavez would cause Cruz’s nose to bleed a lot in the sixth round, when both fighters landed a fair share of clean punches.
Cruz, 27, got stronger in the ninth, separating herself in terms of punch volume as Chavez threw only counterpunches. Despite being floored in the first round, Cruz ended the fight pushing Chavez back, being the more physical and active fighter. The two traded punches to end the fight and embraced in the middle of the ring.
“I heard a snap in my knee,” Cruz said in the ring after. “I really can’t put a lot of pressure on my left leg right now. Those last nine rounds, I had to dig deep and make sure my knee didn’t give out again.”
Cruz improved to 11-0 (1 KO) and became the interim WBA titleholder.
The 21-year-old Chavez, 8-6-1 (1 KO), has lost two fights in a row. Chavez lost a split decision to Jasmine Artiga in March for the vacant WBA title.
Cruz, who believes Chavez beat Artiga in that fight, credited her opponent with making her better Friday.
“I unlocked another level in myself,” Cruz said. “Her record doesn’t speak for her skill set, and she was robbed two times. Honestly, right now, I should be walking out as a champion and she should be defending her belt.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at .