Ava Knight to Defend Title Against Susana Vazquez on June 30 in Mexico

By Ryan Maquiñana
Norcalboxing.net

BoxingScene.com/Norcalboxing.net have been advised that reigning IBF flyweight champ Ava “The Lady of Boxing” Knight will make the second defense of her world title on June 30 in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, against rugged veteran Susana Vazquez.

Knight (8-1-3, 5 KOs), who fights out of Chico, Calif., but trains in San Francisco, is coming off a 10^th-round stoppage of Thailand’s Hongfah Tor Buamas in March.  Having been the first woman to defeat current titleholders Arely Mucino and Kaliesha West, Knight is one of the more talented fighters in the sport. 

Recently, “The Lady of Boxing” was nominated for Chico Sportsperson of the Year, an honor that ended up going to NFL Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers.

Meanwhile, Vazquez (8-6-1, 2 KOs) may hover close to .500, but her résumé speaks for itself.  Out of her six losses, the challenger from Toluca, Mexico, has fallen to five world champions, taking reigning titleholders Ana Maria Torres, Jackie Nava, Mariana Juarez, and Mucino the distance (Juarez stopped her in their first fight).

“Vazquez is a tough fighter even if her record doesn’t say so,” said Knight’s trainer Ben Bautista.  “She’s fought everyone.  The plan is to win this fight, and then go after Juarez to unify the belts.”

Any talk of Knight negotiating a 112-pound unification bout with newly crowned WBO/WIBF boss Melissa McMorrow—who trains a half-hour south in San Mateo—will be on hold for now.  According to McMorrow’s trainer/manager, former three-time world title challenger Eddie Croft, they are headed back to Germany for an immediate rematch with Susi Kentikian in the fall.

Ryan Maquiñana writes a weekly boxing column for CSNBayArea.com.  He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Ratings Panel for Ring Magazine. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.