4 days ago
Franchón Crews-Dezurn faces Citlalli Ortiz on Friday in world championship bout
Franchón Crews-Dezurn will defend her WBC super-middleweight title on Friday against Mexican-American challenger Citlalli Ortiz.
Crews-Dezurn, 9-2 (2), will be defending her title over ten rounds at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, in a bout that will be broadcast live and exclusive on DAZN. The event will take place as part of this weekend's induction at the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
In 2023, Crews-Dezurn made her way to England where she lost a majority decision at the Manchester Arena to Savannah Marshall. After that, she made her way back to the US, where she won the vacant WBC title in December 2023 against Shadasia Green.
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Crews-Dezurn's other loss came when making her debut against Claressa Shields in 2016. That fight saw her lose a unanimous decision over four rounds.
This weekend's fight marks the first defence of her title.
Her opponent, Ortiz, 4-1 (1), last fought in July 2023 when she outpointed Jordanne Garcia in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So far, Ortiz's only loss has been an eight-round split decision against Diana Tapia Castro in their 2022 rematch.
A professional since 2021, Ortiz won her first three fights before that loss to Tapia Castro in March 2022. She then fought her most-recent fight, against Garcia, in July 2023.
Ortiz's Instagram profile indicates that she was a six-time Mexican national champion during her amateur career, alongside being a seven-time US national champion. She also won medals at the Pan-American and Central American Games and was a world youth champion in 2017. Her amateur record is indicated to have been 27-6 (3).
According to the WBC's official rankings, Ortiz is currently ranked eighth within the organisation behind Raquel Miller, Lani Daniels, Shadasia Green, Melinda Watpool, Lina Tejada, Bolatito Oluwole, and Elin Cederroos.
Interestingly, neither Crews-Dezurn nor Ortiz are ranked within BoxRec for their weight class due to inactivity. The top-ranked female at super-middleweight, according to the site, is Shadasia Green, 15-1 (11), followed by Hanna Gabriels, 22-2-1 (13); Melinda Watpool, 7-1 (2); Adriana Dos Santos Araujo, 6-3 (1); and Wendy Gcado, 4-1-1 (0).
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