DETROIT – Edith Soledad Matthysse upset Samantha Worthington for the interim WBA junior welterweight title, battling it out in close quarters until the war of attrition led Worthington to remain in her corner after eight rounds.
Worthington came in as the defending titleholder with an undefeated record of 12-0 – and, at 30 years old, the American was seen as the much fresher fighter. Soledad Matthysse, meanwhile, had a significant advantage in experience and level of opposition and was a former unified featherweight titleholder. But she was 45 years old, and her record of 20-16-1 showed that the Argentine fighter was no longer anywhere near her peak.
But whatever Soledad Matthysse had left turned out to be more than enough.
The opening rounds were heavy on offense and lacking in defense and movement. In the third, recognizing the style of fight they had placed themselves in, each woman tried to give herself a little space. When one would come forward, the other would try to catch her on the way in.
Soledad Matthysse seemed to be tiring in the fourth round, but she found her second wind in the fifth. Soledad Matthysse scored from a distance as Worthington came forward, and soon caught her with a right hand upstairs, and later a left hook to the body. Worthington retaliated with her own body work, which seemed to bother Soledad Matthysse, so Worthington continued to dig to her opponent’s midsection.
The pace seemed to be getting to both fighters. They remained active, but their offense included plenty of weary arm punches as the sixth round came to a close. Worthington started the seventh with good two-punch combinations and then returned to body work. Soledad Matthysse scored with a good left hook later on and let loose with a flurry a bit before the bell.
In the eighth, Soledad Matthysse succeeded with a left hook to the body followed by one to the head, and then she targeted Worthington’s body. Worthington seemed to be tiring. When she let out a number of uppercuts from in close, they landed but had little steam behind them. Soledad Matthysse’s skill and experience showed when she landed a counter right hand over Worthington’s jab. A lead left hook from Soledad Matthysse scored. So did a good right hand.
The fighters returned to their stools after the eighth round concluded. And then Soledad Matthysse leaped from the blue corner when she realized her foe was going to remain in the red one as the ninth round began.
Soledad Matthysse turned pro in 2007. She beat Ogleidis Suárez in 2013 for the WBA belt at 126lbs, outpointed Jelena Mrdjenovich in 2015 to add the WBC title and then lost both to Mrdjenovich in their rematch in 2016.
Soledad Matthysse had gone just 6-8 since. She had not been stopped in any of her defeats, including a stretch of five consecutive losses from 2022-2024, against Alycia Baumgardner, Nina Meinke, Sarah Achieng, Elif Nur Turhan and Karen Elizabeth Carabajal.
But Soledad Matthysse fought on, putting together a three-fight winning streak and landing this shot at Worthington. Now she is 21-16-1 (4 KOs) and has a secondary title at 140lbs – and the possibility of becoming a two-division titleholder if unified champion Katie Taylor decides not to face her.
Worthington, meanwhile, is 12-1 (7 KOs) and suffered a huge setback. She had won her belt this past July with a majority decision over Victoire Piteau. Given her contract with promoters Salita Promotions and Claressa Shields’ T-Rex Promotions, it’s possible that they will put forth an offer for Worthington to face Soledad Matthysse in a rematch. But Worthington’s camp will also need to put in plenty of work to make sure that the second fight has a different result from the first.
In other preliminary undercard action:
Heavyweight prospect Sardius Simmons shut out Dylan Potter in a four-rounder, with all three judges scoring the bout 40-36. Simmons, a 32-year-old from Flint, Michigan, is now 7-0 (3 KOs). Potter, a 31-year-old from Olympia, Washington, is now 2-3-1 (0 KOs).
Junior welterweight prospect Lance Smith pummeled Jorge Omar Vizcarrondo, particularly with thudding body shots, scoring a third-round technical knockout.
In the first round, Smith repeatedly dug into Vizcarrando’s body, a wise move given that Vizcarrando was coming forward with a peekaboo stance, his gloves high but his core exposed. Smith found Vizcarrando’s head available as well in the second round. Vizcarrando wasn’t just a punching bag, however, landing the occasional looping shot to Smith’s cranium.
With the likelihood that he was two rounds in the hole, Vizcarrando came forward with body shots at the beginning of the third. He couldn’t maintain control for long, though, and Smith soon had Vizcarrando hurt along the ropes and in danger. Smith continued to dig to the body until the referee jumped in one minute and 54 seconds into the round.
Smith, a 24-year-old from Detroit, improved to 6-0 (5 KOs). Vizcarrondo, a 24-year-old fighting for the first time outside of Puerto Rico, dropped to 2-2-2 (2 KOs).
Flyweight prospect Jasmine Hampton scored her second professional victory with a fifth-round technical knockout of Agustina Solange Vazquez.
Hampton took command from the outset, coming forward in a southpaw stance and throwing two-punch combinations that backed Vazquez to the ropes. Hampton was also comfortable boxing on her back foot when Vazquez tried to be the aggressor in the latter moments of the round. The first round was already much longer than Hampton’s first pro fight, a 33-second stoppage in September.
Hampton continued to box on the back foot and catch Vazquez in the second round. After a nice left hand drove Vazquez back to the ropes, Hampton followed forward and let loose with a flurry. Knowing that Vazquez wanted to come forward, Hampton repeatedly paired a left uppercut followed by a right hook in the third round.
Hampton tagged Vazquez with a pair of right hands at the start of the fourth. Vazquez at last had some success of her own with one solid right hand, and soon another. Unhurt and undeterred, Hampton forced Vazquez to the ropes – though she occasionally ate a clean shot in the process.
Hampton strafed Vazquez against the ropes at the start of the fifth, blows that were big enough to draw the concern of the referee. Although Vazquez threw a pair of punches back, the ref stepped in and called the bout off 36 seconds into the round.
Hampton, a 29-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan, moves to 2-0 (2 KOs). Vazquez, a 23-year-old Argentine living in California, falls to 6-7-2 (1 KO).
Junior welterweight Savannah Tini won a unanimous decision over Vaida Masiokaite. The scores were 79-73 (twice) and 78-74.
Tini, who is listed at just 5-foot-3, sought to get inside on the taller Masiokaite, whose chin was high and exposed. Indeed, Tini snapped Masiokaite’s head back with a nice left in Round 2. At the start of the third, Masiokaite found success by taking a step back as Tini approached and catching her coming forward. Masiokaite then gave up her height advantage and battled from closer range, though it wasn’t to her detriment as she was able to land clubbing blows to Tini’s head.
Masiokaite’s volume punching may have won her the fourth, though Tini was able to lace in a good right hand counter. Masiokaite gave neither herself nor Tini room to work in the fifth, but Tini was the one landing the flusher blows. Tini wisely utilized a right uppercut as Masiokaite approached in the sixth, and she employed upper body movement to duck her opponent’s downward punches and come back up with hooks. The pace also seemed to be getting to Masiokaite, while Tini found a second wind.
It also didn’t help Masiokaite that she had to mentally and physically contend with Tini’s affinity for switching stances. Tini won the seventh and finished the round with a pair of eye-catching shots, and she appeared to win the eighth as well.
Tini, a 26-year-old from Michigan, is now 7-0 (2 KOs). Masiokaite, a 38-year-old from Lithuania, is now 11-30-6 (1 KO).
Middleweight prospect Jaquan McElroy remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over Andre Johnson Jnr. The scores were 40-36 and 39-37 (twice).
McElroy is a 26-year-old from Flint, Michigan, who is signed with Claressa Shields’ promotional company. Johnson, meanwhile, is a 27-year-old from Grand Prairie, Texas, who reportedly had no amateur background but fought in his barbershop, according to Naji Grampus of Cigar Talk, who was working ringside as a broadcaster.
Johnson performed decently despite his losing record and lack of a pedigree, but McElroy was just better. After a first round that was evenly contested, McElroy began to take control in the second. In the third, McElroy scored with a big right hand followed by a left hook at the halfway point. Johnson landed a couple left hooks at the start of the fourth. McElroy soon retaliated with a counter left hook, then a left to the body and a hook upstairs amid an exchange.
McElroy improved to 5-0 (2 KOs). Johnson fell to 2-5-1 (2 KOs).
In the show’s opener, featherweight Shannel Butler won a clear unanimous decision over former secondary titleholder Danila Ramos. The scores were 80-72 (twice) and 79-73.
This was a good test for Butler, who entered the sweet science in 2025 after briefly competing in mixed martial arts. Ramos had been in with Amanda Serrano in October 2023, losing a shutout. This pairing allowed the 29-year-old Butler to get valuable experience against an opponent who is competent but, at 40, is also on the older end.
Ramos tried to use activity to make Butler uncomfortable, and much of the first half of the match was contested within close range. But in the fifth, Butler established better distance and used that to her advantage. She sent jabs into Ramos’ body, and she repeatedly landed counters when Ramos tried to charge forward.
In the sixth, Butler incorporated more upper body movement to evade Ramos’ shots. Or she would throw a lead left and then step to the side, reminiscent of Manny Pacquiao. Butler continued to command the action in the seventh and punctuated the round with several clean blows while Ramos was along the ropes. The eighth was another clear Butler round.
Butler, who is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is now 7-0 (3 KOs), not including a few nights competing within the Team Combat League. Ramos, from Brazil, is now 14-5 (1 KO).
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
