“BARBY” MAULS “THE TIGRESS!”

World Boxing Council female Bantamweight  champion, Mariana “Barby” Juarez, swept aside Belarusian Alesia “Tigress”  Graf,  via a crushing and irresistible technical knockout at 24 seconds of the sixth round , to retain her crown, in the main event of Promociones del Pueblo presented in Irapuato, Guanajuato.

After a cautious opening study round , Mariana proved she was the ruler, in a class of her own, unleashing an ample and unremitting TNT arsenal. It’s  ingrained bedrock mind over matter foundation, cascaded forth, in solid nuggets of accurate left jabs, which were often doubled up, pickaxe style!

Alesia, who was totally dominated and broken down by an intensifying attack, injured her leg and had to withdraw, but she was utterly overwhelmed by a grimly determined, totally focused champion, who never gave her any breathing space, or a moment to steady herself.

Mariana who briefly switched to southpaw,  launched a tremendous and sustained attack in the second round, which reddened the face of Alesia and drove her all over the ring.  To her credit Alesia fought back in the third, but she was punished by a welter of jarring left jabs and some heavy body shots.  In the fourth short right uppercuts and left right combinations were snapping back Alesia’s head, and Marina was accurately varying the attack from body to head… at will.  A stung and tired Alesia, slowly trudged back to her corner after  the bell rang.

Alesia, who’s boxing was becoming more sporadic and ragged, complained bitterly after an unintentional clash of heads.  She was then docked a point for rabbit punching.  Determined to end it in the sixth and giving her best,  Mariana landed a sinking blow to the stomach and followed up with an unanswered right to the head. At this point, Alesia who’s right leg seemed to be troubling her dropped her hands and turned away, signalling surrender, in some distress.

It was the second successful defense of the 118-pound crown  for Mariana, who in 2017 became the first 3 divisions world champion in the history of Mexican women’s pugilism. Ambitious as ever, she’s now talking about challenging for the WBC female super bantamweight crown!