World Boxing News provides an update on a mandatory title defense for Leo Santa Cruz and the progress of Alejandro Ayala.
Santa Cruz had to put off plans to unify. At the same time, Ayala is recovering well after a scary spell in hospital.
Santa Cruz vs Wood
The World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Featherweight Champion Leo Santa Cruz’s team informed the Championships Committee that he would make his mandatory defense.
Santa Cruz has agreed to the bout with the regular category champion, Leigh Wood.
The pioneer entity ordered the fight as part of the world title reduction plan. The winner will be the only WBA 126-pound champion.
Santa Cruz had requested a permit to unify his belt against WBC champion Rey Vargas. But after studying the case, the committee ratified that he must comply with the order and requested a response on this decision.
Finally, Santa Cruz’s team informed them that he would fight the British fighter. In the next few days, the details of the bout will be known.
Alejandra Ayala
Alejandra Ayala continues in her recovery after going through a dramatic episode following her fight in Scotland against Hannah Rankin last May 13.
She lost by knockout in ten rounds and was in a bad way.
The following days were uncertain, and she was in a coma. She needed ten days to wake up. Finally, she was able to recover from such a complicated moment.
The Mexican gave her first interview after the incident. It was for the YouTube channel” You Can’t Play Boxing” and “No Puedes Jugar Boxeo.”
She talked about how she is currently feeling and how she has been improving as the days go by.
“I don’t remember so much when I woke up. But I remember I was happy to see my parents and say, ‘I have another life ahead of me.’
“When I woke up, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t do a thousand things that I do now. The doctors had told me I couldn’t do it in a year and a half. They are surprised,” Ayala added.
Retired
The Mexico City native said she felt she could beat Rankin because her preparation was excellent. Although the doctors said she would need more than a year to do specific tasks after her recovery, she is doing them just a few months later. This scenario has left them pleasantly surprised.
“This was my best fight of the 20 I’ve had as a professional. The doctors were surprised and told me that it had a lot to do with the excellent preparation I had in the three months before the fight.
Now officially retired as a fighter, she assured that she would dedicate herself to training and developing talent in Tijuana.
It’s a noble task to support the preparation of Mexican talent and the future of the sport in her country.
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