Erika Cruz will defend title against Nazarena Romero May 11

Erika Cruz will defend her WBA junior featherweight title versus Nazarena Romero on Saturday, May 11, promoter Matchroom Boxing revealed Wednesday.

The fight at the Palenque de la Feria National de San Marcos in Aguascalientes, Mexico, will be the co-main event of Eduardo Hernandez’s junior lightweight fight against Daniel Lugo.

Cruz (17-2, 3 KOs), of Mexico, is a two-division champion. She earned the WBA featherweight belt with a technical decision victory over Jelena Mrdjenovich in April 2021. She made two successful defenses before losing the title to Amanda Serrano in a unification bout in February 2023. Cruz then moved up in weight and defeated Mayerlin Rivas in November to grab the WBA title at 122 pounds.

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Her focus now is on title unification.

“I’m stepping into the ring not just to defend my title, but to conquer,” Cruz said in a news release. “Romero may be the mandatory opponent, but my sights are set on bigger dreams. Yamileth Mercado [WBC], Ellie Scotney [IBF], Segolene Lefebvre [WBO] — I’m coming for all the belts. Romero won’t be the one to stand in the way of my destiny.”

Romero (13-0-1, 7 KOs), of Argentina, will be fighting in her second consecutive title fight. In June, she challenged Rivas for the WBA junior featherweight belt, but the bout ended in a technical draw after Romero, who suffered a cut over her left eye because of an accidental clash of heads, was unable to continue. She now has another chance at the same belt versus Cruz.

“I think my time has come,” Romero said. “In my life nothing was, is, or will be easy. I was born for this, and I feel like the best of all. I prepare like a champion, I think like a champion and I need to live like a champion.”

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