Yulihan Luna Explained

Yulihan Luna
Realname:Yulihan Alejandra Luna Ávila
Nickname:La Cobrita
Weight:
Height:5 ft 0 in
Reach:71 in
Birth Date:1994 2, df=y
Birth Place:Gómez Palacio, Durango, Mexico
Style:Orthodox
Boxrec:587394
Total:30
Wins:25
Ko:4
Losses:4
Draws:1

Yulihan Alejandra Luna Ávila (born 21 February 1994) is a Mexican professional boxer. She is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC female bantamweight title and the IBF female junior featherweight title.

Professional career

Luna made her professional debut on 28 October 2011, scoring a four-round unanimous decision (UD) victory against Sandra Paulido at the Gimnasio Hermanos Rojas in Gómez Palacio, Mexico.[1] She suffered the first defeat of her career in her next fight, losing by UD over four rounds against Araceli Palacios in May 2012.[2]

After a nine-fight winning streak, she challenged Jéssica Gónzalez for the WBC female interim bantamweight title[3] on 28 June 2014, at the Centro de Espectaculos in Epazoyucan, Mexico. Luna suffered her second defeat, losing by ten-round UD.[4]

Following a UD victory against Samantha Estrada in August,[5] Luna faced former WBA female interim super flyweight champion Carolina Marcela Gutiérrez for the vacant IBF female junior featherweight title on 15 November at the Quorum Hotel in Córdoba, Argentina. All three judges scored the bout 99–91 in favour of Luna, awarding her the IBF title via UD.[6] In her next fight she faced IFBA junior featherweight champion Maureen Shea on 29 August 2015, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Luna used her height advantage and elected to fight at a distance, using movement and picking her moments to engage while Shea was the aggressor, pressing the action to fight on the inside. After the ten rounds were complete, one judge scored the bout 97–93 in favour of Luna, the second judge scored it 98–92 to Shea, while the third scored it even at 95–95 to see both boxers retain their titles through a split draw.[7]

She spent two years away from boxing after giving birth,[8] making her return in September 2017 with an eight-round UD victory against Katia De La Parra.[9] Luna followed up with three more wins before suffering her third defeat, losing via UD in a non-title bout against reigning WBC female super flyweight champion Guadalupe Martínez Guzmán in November 2018.[10]

She scored three more wins before facing WBC female bantamweight champion Mariana Juárez on 31 October 2020, at the Grand Oasis Arena in Cancún, Mexico. After a one-sided fight in which Juárez took punishment throughout, two judges scored the bout 100–90 and the third scored it 99–91, all in favour of Luna, awarding her the WBC title via UD to become a two-weight world champion.[11]

Juárez caused controversy after the final bell rang; walking across the ring to shout at Luna, accusing her of cheating. Juárez also interrupted Luna's post-fight interview to make her accusations known, saying, "I've been in this sport for 21 years, There's something in those gloves and they know it. The WBC will look into it." Luna responded by saying, "The gloves and hand wraps are [at ringside]. We are athletes. We know how to win. We know how to lose. She was saying that the laces were higher than normal, as if that's the part of the glove I hit her with. We won because of the hard work we did. If she wants a rematch, I'll give it to her. We're not afraid. They can inspect the gloves all they want." Luna's hand wraps and gloves were examined by representatives of the WBC and determined to be legal before the result was announced.[12]

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
30Loss24–4–1 Dina ThorslundUD101 Sep 2023
29Win25–3–1 Vanesa Lorena TabordaUD1017 Mar 2023
28Win24–3–1 Jessica GonzalezUD1017 Jun 2022
27Win23–3–1 Mayeli FloresUD102 Apr 2022
26Win22–3–1 Karla Valenzuela GarciaTKO810 Sep 2021
25Win21–3–1 Barbara Martinez MunozUD4 (8)30 Apr 2021
24Win20–3–1 Mariana JuárezUD1031 Oct 2020
23Win19–3–1 Kathia Rodriguez6 (8), 25 Sep 2020
22Win18–3–1 Judith RodríguezUD812 Jul 2019
21Win17–3–1 Maria Esperanza ResendizUD84 May 2019
20Loss16–3–1 Guadalupe Martínez GuzmánUD1024 Nov 2018
19Win16–2–1 Arely ValenteSD64 Aug 2018
18Win15–2–1 Kandy Sandoval1019 May 2018
17Win14–2–1 Aholibama ÁlvarezTKO2 (6)7 Apr 2018
16Win13–2–1 Katia De La ParraUD822 Sep 2017
15Draw12–2–1 Maureen Shea1029 Aug 2015
14Win12–2 Carolina GutiérrezUD1015 Nov 2014
13Win11–2 Samantha EstradaUD420 Aug 2014
12Loss10–2 Jéssica GónzalezUD1028 Jun 2014
11Win10–1 Teresa Cuevas1 (6), 15 Mar 2014
10Win9–1 Araceli PalaciosSD65 Dec 2013
9Win8–1 Ivett ValenzuelaUD423 Aug 2013
8Win7–1 Margarita MoralesSD418 May 2013
7Win6–1 Estefania TalamantesUD61 Mar 2013
6Win5–1 Estefania TalamantesUD412 Jan 2013
5Win4–1 Margarita SanaudaUD417 Nov 2012
4Win3–1 Lesly MoralesSD420 Oct 2012
3Win2–1 Jennifer Gutierrez415 Jun 2013
2Loss1–1 Araceli PalaciosUD44 May 2012
1Win1–0 Sandra Pulido428 Oct 2011

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BoxRec: Yulihan Luna vs. Sandra Paulido. 24 November 2020. BoxRec.
  2. Web site: BoxRec: Yulihan Luna vs. Araceli Palacios. 24 November 2020. BoxRec.
  3. Web site: Vázquez Frayre. Humberto. 5 June 2014. Contenderá la 'Rusita' Rivas en la Bella Airosa. 24 November 2020. El Siglo de Torreón. es-MX.
  4. Web site: BoxRec: Yulihan Luna vs. Jéssica Gónzalez. 24 November 2020. BoxRec.
  5. Web site: BoxRec: Yulihan Luna vs. Samantha Estrada. 24 November 2020. BoxRec.
  6. Web site: 17 November 2014. Yulihan Luna, reina de la FIB – ESTO. 24 November 2020. www.esto.com.mx. es.
  7. Web site: Fischer. Doug. 29 August 2015. Maureen Shea, Yulihan Luna battle to draw on Molsey-Mayorga undercard. 24 November 2020. The Ring.
  8. Web site: 17 July 2018. Ex campeona mundial duranguense Yulihan Luna se presenta en Guadalajara. 24 November 2020. www.20minutos.com.mx. es-MX.
  9. Web site: BoxRec: Yulihan Luna vs. Katia De La Parra. 24 November 2020. BoxRec.
  10. Web site: BoxRec: Yulihan Luna vs. Guadalupe Martínez Guzmán. 24 November 2020. BoxRec.
  11. Web site: 2 November 2020. Yulihan Luna Busts Up Mariana Juarez To Capture WBC Title. 24 November 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  12. Web site: Salazar. Francisco. 2 November 2020. Mariana Juarez falsely accuses Yulihan Luna of glove tampering following WBC 118-pound title defeat. 24 November 2020. The Ring.