Duer Wins Vacant World Title

Carolina Raquel Duer won the vacant WBO batamweight title by way of unanimous decision over her co-nationalist, Mayra Alejandra Gomez, at Club Deportivo San Vicente in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Duer, who wore a black skirt with a white top, dictated the action. Depending on her mood, she alternated between boxing on the outside and charging at Gomez, who wore a blue top and blue trunks with slits. Duer's hands were faster and her punches were hard enough to grab Gomez's attention from the outset of the fight.

Gomez chose a curious strategy. She wanted to pressure Duer, but as soon as Duer stopped boxing and charged at Gomez, Mayra fled to the other side of the ring. The result was Gomez countered very rarely and her pressure was ineffective. Gomez bizarrely taunted Duer virtually every time she ran.

Gomez was at her best when Duer stood in front of her and didn't throw, which didn't happen often. Gomez connected with a few eye catching shots, such as a right at the end of the fourth and a hard right towards the end of the ninth. But Duer's defense was as good as it's been in recent years. Her running charges thwarted Gomez's offense, she was effective to the body, and threw a ton of combinations.

With Duer firmly in charge, Gomez became frustrated in the seventh round. In the eighth, Gomez became combative with referee Jorge Basili. She accused Duer of hitting low and rabbit punching, but those accusations were a defense mechanism since things were not going Gomez's way. To her credit, Gomez fought back and had her best round in the ninth. But by the tenth, Duer was back on the attack.

Two judges, Roberto Rilo and Jorge Millicay, scored the bout 96-94 and a third judge, Héctor Miguel, scored it 98-92. Miguel's score was a far more accurate depiction of the bout.

This is the second weight division in which Duer has won the world championship. She is now 15-3-1 with 5 KOs. Gomez falls to 13-3 with 4 KOs. This was Duer's second attempt at the title. Two months ago, Duer drew with Sabrina Maribel Perez for the same vacant title.