Erika Cruz returned to the ring in great shape on Friday night and won the World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental Americas super bantamweight belt by defeating Melissa Odessa Parker at the Auditorio Municipal Fausto Gutierrez Moreno, in Tijuana, Mexico. 

The former world champion won by unanimous decision with cards of 99-91, 99-91 and 98-92 to conquer the regional belt and start a new path towards a world title opportunity. 

Cruz had a great dominance in a fight full of action and exchanges, which was also marked by drama due to the amount of blood on the face of the winner because of a cut. However, she was able to win the rounds and show her hierarchy to get a comfortable victory on the scorecards.

The 33-year-old Mexican looked very good after having moved down a weight class and was well adapted to the 122-pound class. She got a good victory in front of her home crowd and now she is going for bigger challenges.

Cruz’s record stands at 16 wins, 2 losses and 3 knockouts, while Parker’s record stands at 6 wins, 2 losses and 2 knockouts.