La Cobra, Maricela and More Results from Pico Rivera, Calif.

By Lauren Rodriguez

(Published Sept. 26, 2021)

It was a festive night at the Pico Rivera sports arena Friday night. Marv Nation promotions hosted their “Box Fest” fight night, headlined with women’s boxing.

The event started early, with doors to the Pico Rivera Sports arena opening at 3pm. Attendees were able to drink, eat and most importantly dance as bandas played before the fights began.

Adelaida "La Cobra" Ruiz (10-0-1, 5 KOs) stormed past Mexico's Nancy Franco (19-15-2) with a nonstop withering attack to win by knockout in the ninth round. She also wins the WBC Silver title which has significance in that it puts Ruiz in the top 10 as a super flyweight.

Franco never touched the floor but was belted during the last three rounds by Ruiz who incessantly unloaded barrage after barrage.

Although Franco was trading blows throughout the fight, she was never able to connect consistently and that was the difference. Ruiz was on target and seldom hit in return. That was the difference between the two warriors.

During the ninth round Ruiz battered Franco until the referee stopped the fight at 1:20 of the round.

In the other women's bout middleweight contender Maricela Cornejo (14-5, 5 KOs) defeated Miranda Barber (2-3) by unanimous decision after six rounds. It was a contrast in style and experience between the veteran fighter and the aggressive yet fairly new fighter from Florida.

Cornejo was consistent and steady with her attack that featured a solid jab and good footwork. It was a very professional example which Barber will eventually learn in time. But during this fight she was not able to hurt Cornejo at any time.

After six rounds all three judges scored every round for the taller fighter Cornejo.

Other bouts

The first bout of the night began at 6:30 pm with a welterweight fight between Tyrell “Dirty Left” Washington (3-0, 3 KO) against Rodrigo “Loving Boy” Solis (4-7, 2 K.O.).

The first round displayed a hesitant Solis who appeared scared to extend a full jab. Within moments Washington turned the round into a pound for pound, Solis matching hits.

The crowd screamed, cheering as Solis began to throw heavy hitters. Where Washington had reach, Solis had power in his heavy punch.

The second round amped up as the two bobbed and weaved each other’s throws till Solis was hit below the belt. Solis remained hunched over on the ground until he rose and shook off the pain.

The brawl erupted once more, each fighter often hitting as much as they were missing shots. The two became entwined multiple times as their arms rapidly flew.

By the fourth round, Washington amped up his speed, while Solis’ power punches died down and stopped connecting. Solis stumbled into his punches as Washington seemed to be floating around the ring. At one point the two stumbled together, as they fell against the ropes, only seconds before the round came to an end. The bout was scored 39-37, leaving Washington undefeated with 4 wins.

In the light heavy weight division, Carlos Rodriguez made his professional debut against Greg Wilkerson (1-0). The fight came to an end earlier than anyone anticipated.

Rodriguez power jabs knocked down Wilkerson within the first round. Wilkerson rose twice before cowering, as he tried to block speedy hits from Rodriguez.

The fight ended at 2:05 of round 1. Guadalajara native Rodriguez as winner.

In the lightweight division Ernesto “TITO" Mercado (2-0, 1 K.O.) went against Osmel Mayorga (2-2, 1 K.O.).

Mayorga was knocked down seconds before closing bell of the first round. While in their

corners, preparing for round two, the fight was called to an end. The bout was deemed a TKO with Mercado as winner.

In the women’s middleweight division, a 6-round fight between Maricela “La DIVA” Cornejo (13-5, 5 KO) against Miranda Barber (2-2, 1 K.O.).

Within seconds of the first round, it was clear Cornejo had reach to her advantage.

A stocky Barber- who’s chaotic street punches barely landed- struggled, while a graceful Cornejo moved with perfect timing.

By the third round, Cornejo was wearing Barber out who had no choice but to throw herself into her own punches, exhausting the little energy she had left.

The fight seemed unfair as Barber appeared to be brawling herself while Cornejo’s long arms blocked the flurry of hits.

In the final round, Barber was flying at Cornejo while Cornejo moved with efficiency, barely grazed by the chaos before the last round ended.

After six interesting rounds, Cornejo was named winner, bringing her to 14 wins and 5 losses.

After her win, Cornejo was congratulated by guest Champion Claressa Shields near the locker rooms.

In the super lightweight division, Alejandro “Pin-Pon” Reyes (3-0) went against Manuel Lara (2-6). Lara proved no match against Reyes as he was knocked down early on in the bout. Lara rose only to have his head repeatedly drilled by Reyes. The bout was called to an end in the first round at 2:02. Reyes named winner.