TORONTO — Canadian lightweight (Prince) Lucas Bahdi won a 10-round decision over hard-nosed Filipino southpaw Ryan (The Untouchable) Racaza in a battle of unbeaten boxers Friday.
The judges scored it 99-90, 96-93, 97-92 for the 31-year-old from Niagara Falls, Ont., who weighed in at 135 pounds.
Bahdi (19-0-0) is ranked seventh among WBA 135-pound contenders and eighth by the IBF. The 28-year-old Racaza (15-1-0) had not fought since December 2023.
Bahdi's technique overcame Racaza's heavy hands in a fight that grew more bruising round by round. Bahdi showed his power when he knocked Racaza down with a left to the head in the seventh round and staggered him in the ninth.
The 10th and final round saw both men fire bombs.
"He was a great fighter. Another undefeated fighter added to my resume," said Bahdi who landed 80 punches compared to 93 for Racaza. "I didn't get what I wanted tonight — the knockout, of course — but I think I got what I needed tonight. I got the experience and I learned a lot in there. This is just the foundation to get to the world title fights."
The "Most Valuable Prospects 11" card, at the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto, was the first in Canada put on by Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).
In the co-main event, Toronto's Sara Bailey (5-0-0) defended her WBA light-flyweight (109-pound) world title with a unanimous 10-round decision (99-91,99-91, 99-91) over Spain's Cristina (La Piccolina) Navarro (6-3-0). Navarro is ranked fifth by the WBA at 105 pounds.
"I've had three world title fights in 10 months," said Bailey. "Show me someone else who's done that, male or female."
It was the second title defence for the 30-year-old Bailey, a former Canadian amateur champion who turned pro in 2022, since dethroning Mexico's Maria Bautista in April 2024. Navarro was very game but outmatched.
With 26 knockouts between them, Bahdi and Racaza showed each other plenty of respect to start. Bahdi had never fought a southpaw before during his pro career.
After an uneventful first round, Racaza buckled Bahdi with a punch early in the second. Bahdi cracked Racaza right back late in the round.
As the fight wore on, Bahdi was more accurate with his punches while Racaza looked for a finishing blow.
Racaza showed off his chin as he absorbed several big left hooks in the sixth round.
Bahdi was coming off a majority decision win over Italian super-lightweight Armando Casamonica in November on the undercard of the Paul-Mike Tyson fight before a crowd of 72,300 at ATT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
In July, Bahdi turned heads with a spectacular knockout of American Ashton (H2) Sylve, then unbeaten and a top prospect in Paul's stable of fighters, on a short-notice bout on the undercard of the Paul-Mike Perry card in Tampa.
The win prompted Paul, a 28-year-old actor/social media influencer turned boxer and entrepreneur, to sign Bahdi to his promotion.
Also on Friday, former world amateur champion Tamm Thibeault, ranked seventh among WBA middleweight contender, stopped American Sonya (Red) Dreiling (6-7-0) in the first round.
At six foot, Thibault (2-0-0) had a seven-inch advantage in height and nine inches in reach over the outclassed Dreiling (6-8-0), who was dropped twice before the fight was called at the end of the round. Thibault landed 20 punches to Dreiling's two.
"I'm progressing the way I should be," said Thibault.
The 28-year-old from Shawinigan, Que., finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. But her campaign at the 2024 Olympics lasted just one bout, snapping a 21-fight win streak that dated back to her Tokyo quarterfinal loss.
Thibeault, whose father Patrick Thibeault is a former CFL wide receiver, won her world amateur title in 2022.
Super-lightweight (Marvellous) Mark Smither, from Barrie, Ont., rallied from a slow start to win an eight-round (79-73, 78-74, 78-74) decision over American Jaime (The Cuban Flash) Cuesta. Smither, dedicating the win to his new daughter Ada, improved to 14-1-0 while Cuesta slipped to 10-1-0.
In the featured event of the preliminary card, Doni Foreman (2-0-0) of Brampton, Ont., knocked out Czech heavyweight Pavel Ourednik (4-1-0) at 1:15 of the third round.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2025
The Canadian Press
