Mayerlin Rivas steps on the dimensions to weigh in for his November 18, 2023 battle on the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Picture by Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
For each unblemished report in boxing there’s a misleading report held by a boxer whose abilities are far higher than what these numbers convey.
Venezuelan junior featherweight titlist Mayerlin Rivas is one in every of them.
For years, “La Monita” took on all comers within the Latin American circuit, touring round and settling in Argentina and Colombia often in her seek for higher alternatives. And now she will get able to make her US debut to defend her WBA trinket in opposition to former featherweight titlist Erika Cruz-Hernandez on the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California in the course of the Pacheco-Coceres undercard.
It’s an enormous alternative for her, and she or he is aware of it.
“We have now skilled very properly in Colombia for 2 and a half months”, mentioned Rivas (14-4-3, 11 knockouts), presently rated at No. 5 at junior featherweight, throughout a cellphone interview. “Erika did a fantastic job in opposition to (Ring featherweight champion Amanda) Serrano and that gave her a fantastic title. However we’re not feeling the stress. Quite the opposite, she will probably be my stepping stone for my subsequent steps.”
Confidence, as it may be seen, just isn’t one thing that Rivas lacks. Her need is palpable in each one in every of her fights, and watching her storm out of the nook together with her sights set on her opponents with a mixture of ferocity and focus is one thing to behold. However that doesn’t imply that she had her share of heartbreaks alongside the best way.
Mayerlin Rivas and Karina Fernandez throughout their bout on the Matchroom boxing card in Guadalajara, MX . – Picture by Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
“My battle in opposition to Nazarena (Romero, in Buenos Aires again in June) may have gone on, however it was a disgrace that it was in Argentina and so they stopped it as a result of we had already knocked her down and we had settled on an excellent tempo. It didn’t have an effect on my confidence in any respect. The outcome was not what I anticipated however that is how issues are.
That battle with Romero, which was stopped within the third spherical as a result of cuts attributable to an unintentional conflict of heads, is one in every of many situations through which Rivas drew the quick stick in a battle that she was on her approach to dominate. And a part of these 4 losses could be attributed to moments of dangerous luck or home-cooked choices.
“They are saying my report is deceiving, as a result of I’ve fought in opposition to nice fighters, and I can say I misplaced with nice fighters as properly,” mentioned Rivas, who has misplaced in opposition to Yasmin Rivas and former pound-for-pound entrants Marcela Acuña and Daniela Bermudez. “However for those who prime to see the fights you possibly can see that it wasn’t all the time the case. In opposition to (former champ Zulina) Muñoz, I despatched her to the canvas thrice and so they gave me a draw. I beat Acuña by a mile however the battle was in Argentina and she or he had her hand raised on the finish. However I believe that God’s timing is ideal, and if I didn’t win these fights it’s as a result of they’d one thing constructive to show me.
In opposition to Cruz-Hernandez (16-3, 3 KOs), rated at No. 1 at featherweight by The Ring, Rivas will want all of the timing, the teachings and the expertise she will muster. A troublesome-as-nails punching machine who can also be identified to cost together with her head quite a bit, Rivas should work further laborious to maintain her distance and use her superior pace and mobility to show again the Mexican’s problem, the third of Rivas’ reign (which began together with her win over Laura Ledezma in 2020).
Rivas is assured that she’s going to succeed.
“We’re going to work at a distance,” mentioned Rivas. “I’m a technical fighter however I do have punching energy and I’ve many sources to win this battle. We labored on all of the errors that Cruz makes, that are lots, and we’ll deal with these. And naturally, I hope the outcome will favor me, and our workforce is aware of that we are going to be victorious as a result of we labored laborious for that.
“That is my debut in america and it’s a good alternative to point out our laborious work, and we’re going to make use of that to maintain our reign alive.”
Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He has additionally written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and plenty of different magazines, web sites, newspapers and shops since 1993. He’s a full member of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America and an elector for the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame. He has received two first-place awards within the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he’s the moderator of The Ring’s Girls’s Scores Panel. He served as copy editor for the second period of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is presently a author and editor for RingTV.com.