Erika Cruz proved under no uncertain circumstances that her title win was no fluke.

The 32-year-old southpaw from Mexico City claimed a repeat win over Jelena Mrdjenovich, soundly outpointing the former two-division champ over ten rounds. All three judges scored the contest 100-90 in favor of Cruz, who successfully defended her WBA featherweight title in their DAZN co-feature Saturday evening at Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Mrdjenovich confessed to fighting with a heavy heart during their first fight, mourning the loss of her previous trainer and her focus not where it belonged. Going through with their April 2021 fight resulted in Mrdjenovich’s lengthy title reign coming to a bitter end when she dropped a lopsided technical decision defeat in West Point, New York.

The 40-year-old from Edmonton, Canada jumped out to a strong start, punching in combination and absorbing the advice of new head trainer and world-class cornerman SugarHill Steward. Cruz ended the round with a right hook, which Mrdjenovich took well.

Cruz forced a busier pace in round two, bullying her way past Mrdjenovich’s long jab to work her way inside. Mrdjenovich found herself caught up in a heated exchange, not to her benefit as she was rocked by a Cruz right hook at the center of the ring.

Mrdjenovich was warned for hitting behind the head early in round three, the tactic drawing harsh jeers from the partisan crowd in favor of the defending titlist from Mexico City. Action resumed with Cruz forcing a brawl at a time when Mrdjenovich looked to box.

Cruz continued to offer a high motor in round four. Mrdjenovich tried to maintain distance but was forced to stand and exchange. Cruz landed an overhand left that created swelling under the right eye of Mrdjenovich toward the back half of the round.

The crowd once again voiced its displeasure early in round six as a clinch by Mrdjenovich resulted in Cruz falling to the canvas. Mrdjenovich was able to find a home for her right hand, landing with greater frequency than at any other point in the fight. Cruz came back with right hooks upstairs and a body shot near the end of the round which was met with a final right by Mrdjenovich.

A straight left hand by Cruz caused Mrdjenovich’s knees to buckle early in round seven. Mrdjenovich managed to gather herself but was still loading up on her punches which Cruz was able to exploit. Mrdjenovich hoped to turn around things early in round eight, landing a straight right only to get clipped with an overhand left by Cruz.

Mrdjenovich was urged by Steward to sell out in the final six rounds, remembering the basics and using all of his physical attributes to turn things around. Cruz was not yet ready to give back the title, riding out long right hands to offer punches in bunches. A left hand by Cruz snapped back the head of Mrdjenovich, who managed to respond with a right hand. Both fighters were cheated out of a few seconds after spilling to the canvas, as the timekeeper never stopped the clock after time was called by the referee.

It mattered little as Mrdjenovich was too far behind and not a threat to land a game-changing punch needed to erase the deficit. The former eight-time titleholder in two divisions falls to 41-12-2 (19KOs) in what was perhaps her last moment as a relevant player in the featherweight title picture.

Cruz advances to 15-1 (3KOs), extending her current fourteen-fight win streak as she defends her WBA featherweight title for the second time. The win was just as dominant as when she claimed the belt from Mrdjenovich in their first fight more than sixteen months ago.

With the win, demand will come for Cruz to face the winner of the September 24 featherweight unification bout between WBC/WBO/IBO champ Amanda Serrano (42-2-1, 30KOs) and IBF titlist Sarah Mahfoud. Cruz could potentially first face mandatory challenger Nina Meinke before eyeing an undisputed fight in 2023.

Headlining the show, lineal junior bantamweight champion and local hero Juan Francisco Estrada (42-3, 28KOs) faces countryman Argi Cortes (23-2-2, 10KOs) in a scheduled twelve-round contest.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox