Juan Francisco Estrada had to wait more than a year to get a second opportunity to fight Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and the Mexican star took full advantage of the rematch to make a statement.
After losing the first fight back in February 2018, Estrada returned the favor in full, defeating Sor Rungvisai by unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) to win the WBC super flyweight title. The rematch headlined a Matchroom Boxing on DAZN card from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Unlike the first fight, Estrada started the fight as the aggressor, utilizing the jab to outbox Sor Rungvisai. The story of the first half, however, was Sor Rungvisai fighting orthodox when he is a natural southpaw. Although this isn't the first time Sor Rungvisai fought in the orthodox stance, he was losing the rematch in the center of the ring and looked to be a step behind Estrada. Sor Rungvisai did manage to get some heavy right hands land on Estrada, especially in round two when it knocked Estrada back and nearly hurt him.
As the fight got into the middle rounds, Estrada was easily outlanding and outworking Sor Rungvisai. But after an uncharacteristic performance in the first half, Sor Rungvisai returned to fighting as a southpaw and was starting to win back rounds late. Although he was clearly winning at least most of the last four rounds, it wasn't enough for him to erase the deficit on the scorecards.
The first fight between the two, which headlined the second of HBO's three "SuperFly" boxing cards, was a universally-praised bout that saw Sor Rungvisai win to retain the title. Although the WBC ordered a rematch between the two almost immediately, Sor Rungvisai returned to his native Thailand for his next two fights while Estrada had to bide his time until the fight could be made.
As far as a rubber match between the two, Estrada stated in a post-fight interview that he would not be opposed to it, but said he would rather have a unification fight first. IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas is defending his title next month while WBA champion Kal Yafai doesn't have a fight lined up for him. The WBO title is vacant, but a date has been set for Kazuto Ioka and Aston Palicte to fight for the belt.
