Frank Rojas came into the fight as unknown with an impressive record of 22-0 with 21 knockouts but he did not make it very far into the fight against Benavidez, who was sitting down on his punches straight from the start of the fight.
Rojas took a hard right hand from Benavidez that sent him back on his heels, but it was a sneaky left hook to the liver that put him down on the canvas for the full count and first loss of his career.
Rojas headed into the fight being ranked number five in the WBA rankings and Benavidez was ranked sixth in a stacked welterweight division that is headed by Filipino Manny Pacquiao, who will fight the regular champion, Argentine Lucas Matthysse, on June 15th in Malaysia.
Sandra “Perla Negra” Robles improved her record to 21-2 with a unanimous decision victory over Brenda “Muñeca” Ramos via scores of 97-93, 99-91, and 98-92.
The fight took place at the Auditorio Municipal in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and was an eliminator for the World Boxing Association (WBA) World Female Light Flyweight Title fight.
The fight was an intense war from the very beginning, as they were in constant exchanges, with Robles appearing to have the higher work rate while landing the cleaner blows, although Ramos thought that she won as she said after the fight “The fight was won by me but the judges saw something different.”
Robles is the local fighter in Tijuana that is looking to fulfill her dreams of becoming a world champion, as she has fought the WBA Minimumweight Title once before, coming up short after six rounds to Anabel Ortiz in September of 2015 after an accidental clash of heads pushed the fight to the judges scorecards where she was well behind. She now hopes to challenge for the title once again.
