Mexican challenger Juan Francisco Estrada won the World Boxing Council super flyweight title Friday, holding on for a unanimous decision over Thailand champ Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in a rematch. Estrada dominated most of the fight, outboxing Srisaket and winning the majority of the rounds on the judges' scorecards at the Forum arena in Los Angeles.
The 32-year-old Srisaket looked slow and flatfooted early on compared to the confident Estrada who welcomed the toe-to-toe exchanges in the centre of the ring. There were no knockdowns but Estrada landed a powerful overhand right in the eighth that rocked Srisaket's head back. He won by scores of 116-112, and 115-113 twice.
Srisaket, who fights mainly as a southpaw, looked strongest in the final two rounds when he seemed to be re-energized after switching from an orthodox to a lefty stance. Estrada appeared to slow near the end of the 12-round fight when he got caught with some solid punches by the Thai champ. But the Mexican survived and won the fight based on his superior performance throughout the first 10 rounds.