Mizuki Hiruta Defends WBO Title in Dominant U.S. Debut

COMMERCE, California u2013 Mizuki Hiruta, Japanu2019s reigning WBO womenu2019s junior bantamweight champion, successfully defended her title Friday night with a dominant performance against Maribel Ramirez at Commerce Casino. The bout ended in a technical decision after an accidental head-butt in the eighth round, with judges scoring the fight 80-71, 79-72, and 80-71 in Hirutau2019s favor.

Hiruta, 28, showcased her signature speed and power, knocking Ramirez down in the second round and maintaining control throughout the fight. The left-handed champion, now 7-0 (3 KOs), cut Ramirez over the left eye and delivered a relentless barrage of punches, leaving her opponent struggling to keep pace. The fight was halted early in the eighth round due to the severity of Ramirezu2019s injuries from the head clash, prompting the judgesu2019 decision.

This marked Hirutau2019s second title defense since winning the WBO belt in December 2022. It was also her first fight outside Japan, where she had previously competed exclusively at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. u201cI wanted to make a statement in my U.S. debut, and I believe I did that,u201d Hiruta said after the fight. u201cIu2019m ready for bigger challenges.u201d

In the co-main event, super middleweight Ali Akhmedov, 24-1, secured his 18th knockout by defeating Malcolm Jones in just 1 minute and 17 seconds of the second round. Akhmedovu2019s aggressive style overwhelmed Jones, who was unable to defend against the Kazakh fighteru2019s powerful combinations.

Los Angelesu2019 own u201cRight Hooku201d Roxy Verduzco also made headlines, earning her first knockout victory against Lindsey Ellis. Verduzco, 3-0 (1 KO), opened a cut on Ellis in the first round and continued to dominate, forcing the referee to stop the fight in the third round due to excessive bleeding.

Other notable results included junior featherweight Adan Palmau2019s split decision victory over Sharone Carter, and junior bantamweight Alexander Guecheu2019s unanimous decision win against Lito Dante. Gueche, 19, displayed a versatile attack, including a fifth-round knockdown, to maintain his undefeated record.

The event, streamed on UFC Fight Pass, drew a lively crowd and highlighted a mix of rising stars and established fighters. Lance Pugmire, BoxingSceneu2019s senior U.S. writer, noted, u201cHirutau2019s performance solidified her as a force in the junior bantamweight division, and the undercard delivered plenty of action for boxing fans.u201d