María “La Imparable” Micheo fell by split decision against Natalie “No Love” Dove this Friday, April 17 at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, in an 8-round fight in the 112-pound category that opened the main card of MVPW-02.
The judges’ cards scored 77-75 for Dove on two cards and 77-75 for Micheo on the third, revealing the closeness of a fight where a judge saw the Guatemalan as the winner.
Micheo came to the ring with the song TNT by AC/DC, dressed in black and gold, with a record of 14 victories, 8 by knockout, and 6 losses. Opposite, Dove arrived undefeated with 7 wins, a draw and 2 knockouts, with the confidence of someone who knows that the scenario favored them at home. With the victory, the American improved her record to 8-0-1.
The night was marked by messages promoting women’s boxing, something that has a special meaning when it comes to María Micheo, a historical reference in Guatemalan women’s boxing, the country’s first professional boxer and the only Guatemalan to have contested an absolute world title.
The development of combat
From the first round Micheo showed superiority with greater reaction speed and precision in his combinations of jabs and crosses that connected clearly on Dove’s guard. In the second round, the Guatemalan’s experience came to light with surgical precision that culminated when Nat Dove fell to the canvas after a combination of blows that revealed Micheo’s dominance in the first rounds.
The third and fourth rounds showed a more even fight with Dove responding better and finding his distance, although Micheo continued to land clean blows with hooks and uppercuts to his rival’s head. Before the fifth round, coach Marisol Rhoessa gave the Guatemalan precise instructions to stay defensive and exploit Dove’s weak points, a moment that reflected the tactical intelligence behind the La Imparable team.
The seventh round was María’s best in the fight, landing several clean blows to the head despite fighting with blood near the eye, without that preventing her from responding with the same intensity that she showed from the first bell. In the last rounds, fatigue was evident in both but Micheo continued to respond with precise combinations that took the fight to the limit of 8 rounds in a fight that kept the Madison Square Garden audience attentive from start to finish.
The decision and what’s next
The judges’ cards gave 77-75 for Dove on two cards and 77-75 for Micheo on the third, a result that reflects the closeness of the fight and made it clear that a judge saw the Guatemalan as the winner. Nat Dove improved her record to 8-0-1 with 2 knockouts, while Micheo added her seventh defeat in a fight where she showed that she has the level to compete on the biggest stages of world women’s boxing.
Far from being the end, this performance by Micheo at Madison Square Garden opens doors. The Guatemalan demonstrated character, experience and quality against an undefeated rival and on one of the most important stages in world boxing. True to her nickname, La Unstoppable will continue looking for that opportunity for the world title that she dreams of so much, because as she herself said before entering the ring in New York, nothing stops her.