Kal Yafai Defeats Norbelto Jimenez To Retain WBA Super Flyweight Title

Kal Yafai has another successful WBA super flyweight title defense under his belt.

Opening the June 29 Matchroom Boxing on DAZN main card from Providence, Rhode Island, Yafai defeated Norbelto Jimenez by unanimous decision (119-107, 118-108, 117-109) to retain his title. This was Yafai’s fifth title defense since winning the belt back in 2016. 

Yafai had started out well, showcasing his power early and Jimenez wary of the champion’s strength. Once the fight settled down and approached the middle rounds, Jimenez was able to briefly outbox Yafai. Jimenez was docked a point in the fourth round for excessive holding. Yafai proceeded to outwork Jimenez and even dropped Jimenez in the final round. Yafai seemingly used his left hand to push Jimenez to the canvas, but it was ruled a knockdown.

Now that he is done with fighting Jimenez, Yafai wants to turn his attention to some of the bigger names at 115 pounds. Yafai said in the post-fight interview that he would like to face WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada, who was recently announced as Yafai’s newest promotional stablemate after signing a deal with Matchroom Boxing. In addition, Yafai claimed that his hands are hurt and that he perforated his eardrums.

“Yeah, I want that fight. I want all the big fights. All the big guys. I love that fight. But any of them: Estrada, [Srisaket Sor] Rungvisai, Roman Gonzalez, Kazuto Ioka. I want the big fights,” Yafai said.

Whether or not he gets any of the aforementioned fights is a different story. Estrada’s next fight will be announced in the coming days while Sor Rungvisai, Gonzalez and Ioka all do not have fights lined up. Waiting in the wings for a shot at the WBA title, however, is mandatory challenger Andrew Moloney, who won a title eliminator earlier this year.