Jessica McCaskill is now a unified world champion at 140 pounds after a thrilling back-and-forth contest in Maryland.
After a 10-round battle against Anahi Esther Sanchez, McCaskill unified the WBA and WBC titles with a unanimous decision, winning with scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 96-94. The fight took place on the undercard of the Matchroom Boxing USA on DAZN show from the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
The fight started off with hard shots being thrown at each other, but McCaskill would get the better of the early exchanges. Sanchez did land some punishing punches of her own in the first half of the fight, especially a left hand at the end of the fourth round that hurt McCaskill.
-- Two Champions Fighting Like Champions --#McCaskillSanchez had it ALL! -- pic.twitter.com/vIaD3YlOR3
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) May 26, 2019
As the fight wore on, McCaskill would start winning rounds more easily with Sanchez starting to tire out a bit. Despite this, Sanchez continued to throw punches and bring the fight to McCaskill. The final round saw both women exchange big power shots throughout the round, but it was McCaskill who was victorious on the scorecards long before the final round came.
.@Jaydi_Mac Wins! ----
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) May 26, 2019
Do you agree with the scores? -- pic.twitter.com/VDMkwcAWix
Before the fight, McCaskill said her goal was to become the undisputed junior welterweight champion and is now two belts away from achieving that goal. The two remaining titles are the WBO title, currently being held by Christina Linardatou, and the IBF title that’s held by Victoria Noelia Bustos.
McCaskill won the WBC title in October 2018 when she won a 10-round decision against Erica Anabella Farias on the undercard of a DAZN card taking place in Chicago. That was McCaskill's second attempt at winning a world title after unsuccessfully challenging for the WBA lightweight title when she faced Katie Taylor in December 2017.
