Christian Medina Outpoints Adrian Curiel, Retains WBO Title

Christian Medina marked his first defense of the WBO bantamweight title with a unanimous decision win over Adrian Curiel on Friday night, closing out a hometown appearance at Domo Alcalde in Guadalajara.

Judges scored the bout 120-108, 116-112, and 115-113 in Medina’s favor.

From the opening rounds, Medina set a measured pace, working behind steady pressure and committing early to Curiel’s body. Curiel, a former junior flyweight titleholder making just his second appearance at bantamweight, pressed forward throughout, looking to turn the fight into a physical exchange. Medina responded by picking his spots, landing clean shots upstairs and downstairs as Curiel tried to force exchanges.

Curiel had his best moments in the middle rounds, where his persistence briefly narrowed the gap. Still, the difference in size showed over time. Curiel’s approach relied on constant aggression, but he struggled to consistently disrupt Medina’s balance or positioning, even as he absorbed heavy hooks to the body. Despite that punishment, Curiel continued to come forward.

Tensions rose late, with both fighters warned by the referee in the 11th round as the fight grew rougher inside. Curiel rallied his supporters between rounds and came out with renewed energy for the final frame, but Medina stayed composed to the end.

Medina stayed composed down the stretch and finished the bout on the scorecards.
The win added another chapter to a career that has rarely followed a straight line for Medina. After dropping three of his first few professional bouts, he rebuilt with a long winning run before a setback against Ryosuke Nishida in 2023. Since then, Medina has again found momentum, highlighted by his knockout of Yoshiki Takei to claim the WBO title last September.

Medina moves to 27-4 with 19 knockouts. Curiel, 27, falls to 26-7-1.

Undercard Results

Alberto Mora remained unbeaten, improving to 14-0 (9 KOs), with a 10 round decision over Jose Amaro (12-2-1) to win the WBO NABO featherweight title. Mora recovered from an early knockdown and closed strongly down the stretch. Judges scored the bout 97-92 twice and 96-93. Miguel Canuel officiated.

At super lightweight, Abraham “Bombi” Cordero (17-6-2, 8 KOs) earned a split decision over Eduardo Martinez (16-3) in a 10 round bout. Scores were 97-93 and 96-94 for Cordero, with one judge favoring Martinez 96-95. Referee Pablo Diaz worked the fight.

Super welterweight Sabastian Juarez (11-0, 8 KOs) defeated Ernesto “Mamba” Sanchez (5-3-1) over six rounds by unanimous decision. Scores were 59-54, 59-55, and 58-56.

Super bantamweight Roberto “Prandini” Carbajal won his professional debut, scoring a four round decision over Edgar Vazquez. Carbajal dropped Vazquez in the second round and won all four rounds on all scorecards.