WBO featherweight championship: Espinoza stops Blandon in third round
Rafael Espinoza retains his boxing title after a punch-caused cut leaves Ricardo Blandon unable to continue, taking the champion to 29–0 with 25 knockouts.
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Rafael Espinoza retains his boxing title after a punch-caused cut leaves Ricardo Blandon unable to continue, taking the champion to 29–0 with 25 knockouts.
Rafael Espinoza retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title with a third-round technical knockout of Ricardo Blandon, the Guardian said. A punch caused a cut above Blandon’s eye, leaving the challenger unable to continue and prompting the stoppage.
The bout took place on 31 October 2026 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Espinoza, the Mexican champion, finished with an unbeaten record of 29–0 and 25 knockouts.
Espinoza won the belt on 9 December 2023, by beating Robeisy Ramírez by majority decision, meaning two judges scored the fight for Espinoza and the third scored it a draw.
Blandon replaced mandatory challenger Lorenzo Parra after an issue with Parra’s pre-fight medical examination forced him to withdraw, The Ring said in its October 24 report. The WBO ranked Blandon 15th.
The Nicaraguan challenger, 34, came from Managua. These were the fighters' records entering the bout:
| Boxer | Wins–losses | Knockouts |
|---|---|---|
| Rafael Espinoza | 28–0 | 24 |
The completed round leaves Lazio on 28 points, Inter on 25 and Roma on 24. Milan beat Inter 3–1 in the derby, Parma won 3–0 at Atalanta, Roma beat Udinese 5–2 away, Como beat Venezia 1–0, Frosinone beat Torino 2–0 and Juventus beat Napoli 2–0. Bologna beat Monza 2–1, Genoa won 2–1 at Lecce and Fiorentina won 4–2 at Sassuolo.
| Ricardo Blandon | 21–6 | 14 |
Before the bout, Espinoza told The Ring that he wanted a unification fight—a bout against another titleholder to combine championships—or a fight with Naoya Inoue. He said he would consider moving from featherweight at 126 pounds to super-featherweight at 130 pounds if unification became too difficult or unavailable.
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