| Ricardo Rafael Sandoval | |
| Nickname: | El Nino |
| Weight: | Flyweight |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in |
| Nationality: | American |
| Birth Date: | 5 February 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Montclair, California, U.S. |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Boxrec: | 765181 |
| Total: | 27 |
| Wins: | 25 |
| Ko: | 18 |
| Losses: | 2 |
Ricardo Rafael Sandoval (born 5 February 1999) is an American professional boxer. As of December 2021, he is ranked as the world's fifth best flyweight by The Ring[1] and sixth best by TBRB.[2]
Sandoval made his professional debut against Adalberto Solares on 18 June 2016, and won the fight by a third-round technical knockout. He amassed a 16–0 record during the next three years, with eleven of those fights coming by way of stoppage. Following his step-up fight against Marco Sustaita, Sandoval was scheduled to face Gilbert Gonzalez on 16 November 2019.[3] He won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout.[4]
Sandoval's sole fight of 2020 came against Raymond Tabugon on 6 February 2020. He won the fight by a seventh-round knockout, stopping Tabugon at the 1:43 minute mark of the round.[5]
Sandoval was scheduled to face one-time WBC flyweight title challenger Jay Harris in an IBF flyweight title eliminator, in the main event of a DAZN card, on 25 June 2021.[6] Despite coming into the fight as a slight underdog,[7] Sandoval nonetheless won the fight by an eight-round knockout. The fight was stopped at the 2:21 minute mark of the round, after Harris was dropped to the canvas twice and was unable to beat the eight count following the second knockdown.[8] Sandoval was scheduled to fight Carlos Buitrago in a stay-busy fight on 4 December 2021. He won the fight by a seventh-round technical knockout.[9]
Sandoval faced David Jiménez in a WBA flyweight title eliminator on 16 July 2022, on the undercard of the Ryan Garcia and Javier Fortuna lightweight bout.[10] Sandoval was knocked down in the eleventh round, which proved to be the pivotal moment of the bout, as he lost the fight by majority decision: Two judges scored the fight 114–112 for Jiménez, while the third judge scored it 113–113.[11] Most ringside observers thought Sandoval won the fight, as well as the odds-makers, who had Sandoval as a +900 favorite to win by the end of the contest.[12]
Sandoval faced Jerson Ortiz on 18 February 2023. He won the fight by a second-round knockout. Sandoval dropped his opponent with a punch to the body in the dying seconds of the round, which left Ortiz unable to rise from the canvas.[13]
Sandoval is scheduled to face Ángel Acosta in a 10-round flyweight bout at Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA on July 6, 2024.[14]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Win | 25–2 | Ángel Acosta | KO | 10 (10), | 6 Jul 2024 | ||
| 26 | Win | 24–2 | Carlos Buitrago | RTD | 8 (10), | 30 Mar 2024 | ||
| 25 | Win | 23–2 | Victor Efrain Sandoval | UD | 10 | 21 Oct 2023 | ||
| 24 | Win | 22–2 | Rocco Santomauro | UD | 10 | 10 Jun 2023 | ||
| 23 | Win | 21–2 | Jerson Ortiz | KO | 2 (10), | 18 Feb 2023 | ||
| 22 | Loss | 20–2 | David Jiménez | MD | 12 | 16 Jul 2022 | ||
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Carlos Buitrago | 7 (10), | 4 Dec 2021 | |||
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Jay Harris | 8 (12), | 25 Jun 2021 | |||
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Raymond Tabugon | 7 (10), | 6 Feb 2020 | |||
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Gilbert Gonzalez | 5 (10), | 16 Nov 2019 | |||
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Marco Sustaita | 5 (10), | 18 Jul 2019 | |||
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Christian Aranda Orenday | 6 (10), | 18 Jul 2019 | |||
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | Abisai Palomo Ochoa | 4 (6), | 24 Nov 2018 | |||
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Oscar Vasquez | 8 | 4 May 2018 | |||
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Victor Hugo Reyes | 8 | 17 Mar 2018 | |||
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Irving Fierro Verdugo | 2 (8), | 9 Feb 2018 | |||
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Efrain Gonzalez | 4 | 8 Dec 2017 | |||
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Brent Venegas | 6 | 17 Nov 2017 | |||
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Pedro Antonio Rodriguez | 6 | 4 Aug 2017 | |||
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Oskar Jesus Talla Davalos | 1 (4), | 4 Aug 2017 | |||
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Benjamin Solares | 1 (4), | 27 Jan 2017 | |||
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Hector Garcia | 1 (4), | 14 Jan 2017 | |||
| 5 | Loss | 4–1 | Alonso Ceja | 4 | 4 Nov 2016 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Alonso Ronquillo Nunez | 3 (4), | 15 Oct 2016 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Ulises Gabriel Rosales | 3 (4), | 15 Sep 2016 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Hector Garcia | 1 (4), | 19 Aug 2016 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Adalberto Solares | 3 (4), | 18 Jun 2016 | |||