Mayerlin Rivas hopes to set her own record straight against Erika Cruz-Hernandez

For each unblemished report in boxing there’s a misleading report held by a boxer whose abilities are far larger than what these numbers convey.

Venezuelan junior featherweight titlist Mayerlin Rivas is considered one of them.

For years, “La Monita” took on all comers within the Latin American circuit, touring round and settling in Argentina and Colombia sometimes in her seek for larger 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 throughout the Pacheco-Coceres undercard.

It’s an enormous alternative for her, and he or she is aware of it.

“We’ve educated very effectively in Colombia for 2 and a half months”, stated Rivas (14-4-3, 11 knockouts), at present rated at No. 5 at junior featherweight, throughout a cellphone interview. “Erika did an ideal job in opposition to (Ring featherweight champion Amanda) Serrano and that gave her an ideal identify. However we’re not feeling the stress. Quite the opposite, she will likely be my stepping stone for my subsequent steps.”

Confidence, as it may be seen, will not be one thing that Rivas lacks. Her need is palpable in each considered one 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 . – Photograph by Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.

“My struggle in opposition to Nazarena (Romero, in Buenos Aires again in June) might 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 a very good 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 struggle with Romero, which was stopped within the third spherical on account of cuts brought on by an unintended conflict of heads, is considered one of many cases during which Rivas drew the quick stick in a struggle that she was on her strategy to dominate. And a part of these 4 losses could be attributed to moments of unhealthy luck or home-cooked selections.

“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 effectively,” stated Rivas, who has misplaced in opposition to Yasmin Rivas and former pound-for-pound entrants Marcela Acuña and Daniela Bermudez. “However for those who high to see the fights you possibly can see that it wasn’t at all times 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 struggle was in Argentina and he or she had her hand raised on the finish. However I feel that God’s timing is ideal, and if I didn’t win these fights it’s as a result of that they had one thing optimistic 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 be able to muster. A tricky-as-nails punching machine who can also be recognized to cost together with her head so much, Rivas must work further arduous 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 is going to succeed.

“We’re going to work at a distance,” stated Rivas. “I’m a technical fighter however I do have punching energy and I’ve many sources to win this struggle. We labored on all of the errors that Cruz makes, that are lots, and we’ll concentrate on these. And naturally, I hope the outcome will favor me, and our group is aware of that we are going to be victorious as a result of we labored arduous for that.

“That is my debut in america and it’s a good alternative to point out our arduous 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 lots 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 Ladies’s Scores Panel. He served as copy editor for the second period of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is at present a author and editor for RingTV.com.

Follow @MorillaBoxing