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A bright start from Simangele Hadebe was not enough to dethrone World Boxing Council Silver Flyweight defending champion Gabriela Sánchez, with the South African challenger winning the first two rounds before being overwhelmed by her Mexican opponent in the main bout at the Ignacio Zamora Stadium in Puebla, Mexico, on Friday, 4 March, 2025.
Supporters of Hadebe up early on Saturday morning to mark the historic challenge will be sad that the SA champ won’t be coming home with the WBC Silver Flyweight Belt, after Gabriela Sánchez won the fight by unanimous decision to retain the title.
Hadebe was looking to make history by winning the title from the reigning champion, and came into the fight boasting a superior record, experience which saw her winning the first two rounds.
With Hadebe having lost their earlier fight in 2019, she knew that taking on Sánchez was always going to be a tough contest, and so it proved, once the defending champ found her range and rhythm in the third round.
Despite being bloodied by Hadebe early on, Sánchez launched a ferocious onslaught that found Hadebe having to weather the storm, taking numerous blows from the Mexican fighter as the 10-round fight moved past the first five rounds.
At the start of round seven, Hadebe seemed more settled, landing a solid punch early on, but Sánchez seemed to have fire lit within her, and brought the fight to ‘Smash’ much to the delight of her home fans.
Time and again, Hadebe found herself pinned by a seemingly endless whirlwind of wide-arm hooks and vicious upper cuts, putting a more conservative Hadebe on the back foot. The crowd support grew in volume once they saw their contender gain an upper hand when an off-balance Hadebe fell to the canvas in the eighth round, and had to endure the referee’s count before resuming.
Sánchez continued to set the tone and Hadebe dodged some blows but wasn’t able to land a solid contact in reply, both fighters tiring visibly but Hadebe seeming to struggle more with three rounds to go.
With the clock ticking down, Hadebe was forced to give her all looking for a knock-out punch to secure that historic world title, but an undaunted Sánchez continued with her attacking approach.
The fight went the full ten rounds and in the end, it was a win by unanimous decision with Sánchez’s hand to be raised as champion of the women’s title fight, retaining the WBC Silver Flyweight title to the loud delight of the crowd who erupted in applause for their home world champion.
Main Photo Caption: A bright start from Simangele Hadebe was not enough to dethrone World Boxing Council Silver Flyweight defending champion Gabriela Sánchez, with the South African challenger winning the first two rounds before being overwhelmed by her Mexican opponent in the main bout at the Ignacio Zamora Stadium in Puebla, Mexico, on Friday, 4 March, 2025. All Photos: Colleen McAusland
Photo 2 Caption: Simangele Smash Hadebe’s experience saw her establish an early advantage, but not enough to stop Gabriela Sánchez.
Photo 3 Caption: The Mexican defending champ was strengthened by the vociferous support of the crowd attending for this main bout.
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