In an exciting fight for female boxing, Hanna Gabriels won the vacant World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council light heavyweight titles after defeating Martha Lara Gaytán of Mexico by TKO in two rounds.
By securing the win, the Costa Rican boxer has accumulated five titles in her career after a convincing performance on Saturday night at the Fiesta Casino in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The move to light heavyweight was a big for Gabriels, who last fought at 150-pounds.
She’s now won three fights in a row since losing a ten round decision to Claressa Shields in a middleweight contest in 2018. Gabriels dropped Shields in the first round, but the two-time Olympic gold medal winner outboxed her the rest of the way.
Worries about an old arm injury were forgotten as soon as the first round began. Keeping the plan of taking the fight from the long distance and making her longer reach prevail along with a good physical condition, Gabriels effortlessly won a fight that was thought to be longer because of the record of Gaytán, who was overwhelmed by the forceful attack of the seasoned veteran.
With the pleasure of being able to fight in her home country, Gabriels celebrated a great return to the ring after a long period of inactivity and expressed that she feels good to go after all the other champions of the heavyweight and light heavyweight division to resume her goal of becoming the best pound-for-pound female boxer.
The Costa Rican extended her record to 21 wins with 12 KOs, 2 losses, and 1 draw.