Women’s Ratings Update: Fundora enters P4P, Miranda, Metcalf and Cudos rise
Gabriela Fundora (right) lands a long right jab on Christina Cruz – Photo by Golden Boy/Cris Esqueda
It’s rare to see an undefeated champion retire at the age of 32, but that’s exactly what future Hall of Famer Seniesa Estrada did this past week, and his exit left not only the Ring flyweight championship vacant but also an open pound-for-pound top 10 spot as well.
After a vote that included the likes of Savannah Marshall and Lauren Price, it was ultimately flyweight Gabriela Fundora who was chosen to enter the pound-for-pound rankings at No. 10, everyone moving up in one spot to fill in for Estrada’s number. . 4, even surpassed Ring flyweight champion Gabriela Alaniz, who will fight Fundora next Saturday.
“Assuming he beats Chucky Alaniz this weekend, which he absolutely should, Fundora is poised to become the undisputed 112-pound champion at just 22 years old,” writer Christopher Benedict said in his commentary. “A small, tall southern brand that packs a punch, the sky’s the limit for Fundora.”
Lupi Beagle of Good Brawlers said “(Fundora) takes real fights and wins without a doubt,” while TV producer and writer Yesica Palmetta said “Fundora is a great P4P player with her qualities in the ring, achievements her in the competition at a young age and the image she gives as an athlete.”
The product of this debate was a request to move Denmark’s Dina Thorslund up pound for pound again.
“Thorslund has defended his title three times this year, while Baumgarder has only fought once. Also, Thorslund is the better player,” argued columnist Mark Jones, with writer and editor Irene Deserti saying “I also agree that Thorslund should be ranked above Baumgardner. Since defeating Mayer, Alycia hasn’t had any compelling performances, while Thorslund has maintained a career high against tough opponents and is undefeated. He certainly deserves to be ranked high at this time.”
With the new pound-for-pound system done, it was time to whittle down the list with a few more changes.
Spain’s Jennifer Miranda moved into the featherweight rankings at No. 5 with a win over Teresa Almengor. Although several panels remain skeptical of his superiority, the Spaniard has put up enough numbers on the board to earn a spot, according to general sentiment.
As mentioned above, bantamweight champion Dina Thorslund cemented her place as one of the best in the world with a solid win, this time against Japan’s Terumi Nuki. And again at 118 pounds, No. 4 Miyo Yoshida dropped a controversial decision against Shurretta Metcalf, the previous occupant of these ratings. Even if it wasn’t Metcalf’s best performance, the result qualified her to re-enter the ratings at the expense of Florencia Juarez. Metcalf is now No. 4 as Yoshida drops back to No. 5.
In the strawweight division, Estrada’s exit left the division without a Ring champion. And a quick analysis on the other side showed that Jessica Basulto was ineffective and needed to be withdrawn. Argentina’s Sol Cudos has been named the new number 5.
Diego M. Morilla has been writing for The Ring since 2013. He has written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. and an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee. She has won two first place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He worked as a copy editor for the second season of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
