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

Venezuelan junior featherweight titlist Mayerlin Rivas is one among 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 through the Pacheco-Coceres undercard.

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

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

Confidence, as it may be seen, isn’t one thing that Rivas lacks. Her need is palpable in each one among 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 battle in opposition to Nazarena (Romero, in Buenos Aires again in June) may have gone on, however it was a disgrace that it was in Argentina they usually stopped it as a result of we had already knocked her down and we had settled on tempo. It didn’t have an effect on my confidence in any respect. The end result was not what I anticipated however that is how issues are.

That battle with Romero, which was stopped within the third spherical as a consequence of cuts attributable to an unintended conflict of heads, is one among many situations through which Rivas drew the brief stick in a battle that she was on her approach to dominate. And a part of these 4 losses could be attributed to moments of dangerous luck or home-cooked selections.

“They are saying my document 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 in case you high to see the fights you may see that it wasn’t all the time the case. Towards (former champ Zulina) Muñoz, I despatched her to the canvas thrice they usually gave me a draw. I beat Acuña by a mile however the battle was in Argentina and she or he 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.

Towards 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 troublesome-as-nails punching machine who can be identified to cost together with her head quite a bit, Rivas should work additional onerous to maintain her distance and use her superior velocity 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’s 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 battle. We labored on all of the errors that Cruz makes, that are lots, and we are going to deal with these. And naturally, I hope the end result will favor me, and our crew is aware of that we are going to be victorious as a result of we labored onerous for that.

“That is my debut in the US and it’s a good alternative to indicate our onerous 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 gained two first-place awards within the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he’s the moderator of The Ring’s Girls’s Rankings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second period of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is at the moment a author and editor for RingTV.com.

Follow @MorillaBoxing