Ricardo Rafael Sandoval

Ricardo Rafael Sandoval (born 5 February 1999) is an American professional boxer.

Ricardo Rafael Sandoval
Born	(1999-02-05) 5 February 1999 (age 26) Montclair, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	El Nino
Statistics
Weight(s)	Flyweight
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights	28
Wins	26
Wins by KO	18
Losses	2

Professional boxing career

Sandoval made his professional debut against Adalberto Solares on 18 June 2016, and won the fight by a third-round technical knockout. He amassed a 16–0 record during the next three years, with eleven of those fights coming by way of stoppage. Following his step-up fight against Marco Sustaita, Sandoval was scheduled to face Gilbert Gonzalez on 16 November 2019.^[2] He won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout.^[3]

Sandoval's sole fight of 2020 came against Raymond Tabugon on 6 February 2020. He won the fight by a seventh-round knockout, stopping Tabugon at the 1:43 minute mark of the round.^[4]

Sandoval was scheduled to face one-time WBC flyweight title challenger Jay Harris in an IBF flyweight title eliminator, in the main event of a DAZN card, on 25 June 2021.^[5] Despite coming into the fight as a slight underdog,^[6] Sandoval nonetheless won the fight by an eight-round knockout. The fight was stopped at the 2:21 minute mark of the round, after Harris was dropped to the canvas twice and was unable to beat the eight count following the second knockdown.^[7] Sandoval was scheduled to fight Carlos Buitrago in a stay-busy fight on 4 December 2021. He won the fight by a seventh-round technical knockout.^[8]

Sandoval faced David Jiménez in a WBA flyweight title eliminator on 16 July 2022, on the undercard of the Ryan Garcia and Javier Fortuna lightweight bout.^[9] Sandoval was knocked down in the eleventh round, which proved to be the pivotal moment of the bout, as he lost the fight by majority decision: Two judges scored the fight 114–112 for Jiménez, while the third judge scored it 113–113.^[10] Most ringside observers thought Sandoval won the fight, as well as the odds-makers, who had Sandoval as a +900 favorite to win by the end of the contest.^[11]

Sandoval faced Jerson Ortiz on 18 February 2023. He won the fight by a second-round knockout. Sandoval dropped his opponent with a punch to the body in the dying seconds of the round, which left Ortiz unable to rise from the canvas.^[12]

Sandoval is scheduled to face Ángel Acosta in a 10-round flyweight bout at Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA on July 6, 2024.^[13]

Professional boxing record

28 fights	26 wins	2 losses
By knockout	18	0
By decision	8	2

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
28	Win	26–2	Saleto Henderson	UD	10	15 Feb 2025	Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.	Retained WBC Silver flyweight title
27	Win	25–2	Ángel Acosta	KO	10 (10), 1:23	6 Jul 2024	Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, U.S.	Won vacant WBC Silver flyweight title
26	Win	24–2	Carlos Buitrago	RTD	8 (10), 3:00	30 Mar 2024	YouTube Theater, Inglewood, California, U.S.
25	Win	23–2	Victor Efrain Sandoval	UD	10	21 Oct 2023	Kia Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
24	Win	22–2	Rocco Santomauro	UD	10	10 Jun 2023	Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, U.S.
23	Win	21–2	Jerson Ortiz	KO	2 (10), 2:46	18 Feb 2023	Pomona Fox Theater, Pomona, California, U.S.
22	Loss	20–2	David Jiménez	MD	12	16 Jul 2022	Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
21	Win	20–1	Carlos Buitrago	TKO	7 (10), 0:46	4 Dec 2021	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
20	Win	19–1	Jay Harris	KO	8 (12), 2:12	25 Jun 2021	Bolton Whites Hotel, Bolton, England
19	Win	18–1	Raymond Tabugon	KO	7 (10), 1:43	6 Feb 2020	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
18	Win	17–1	Gilbert Gonzalez	TKO	5 (10), 2:25	16 Nov 2019	Plaza De Toros, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
17	Win	16–1	Marco Sustaita	KO	5 (10), 1:16	18 Jul 2019	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.	Retained WBC Youth Intercontinental flyweight title
16	Win	15–1	Christian Aranda Orenday	TKO	6 (10), 2:07	18 Jul 2019	Bufalo Wild Wings, Culiacan, Mexico	Won vacant WBC Youth Intercontinental flyweight title
15	Win	14–1	Abisai Palomo Ochoa	TKO	4 (6), 1:51	24 Nov 2018	Oasis Hotel Complex, Cancun, Mexico
14	Win	13–1	Oscar Vasquez	UD	8	4 May 2018	Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
13	Win	12–1	Victor Hugo Reyes	UD	8	17 Mar 2018	Gimnasio Burocratas, Tijuana, Mexico
12	Win	11–1	Irving Fierro Verdugo	RTD	2 (8), 3:00	9 Feb 2018	Gimnasio Independencia, Tijuana, Mexico
11	Win	10–1	Efrain Gonzalez	UD	4	8 Dec 2017	Gimnasio Independencia, Tijuana, Mexico
10	Win	9–1	Brent Venegas	SD	6	17 Nov 2017	Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
9	Win	8–1	Pedro Antonio Rodriguez	UD	6	4 Aug 2017	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
8	Win	7–1	Oskar Jesus Talla Davalos	KO	1 (4), 2:44	4 Aug 2017	Escape Bar, Tijuana, Mexico
7	Win	6–1	Benjamin Solares	KO	1 (4), 1:52	27 Jan 2017	AS Boxing Arena, Tijuana, Mexico
6	Win	5–1	Hector Garcia	KO	1 (4), 1:13	14 Jan 2017	Gimnasio Municipal Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tecate, Mexico
5	Loss	4–1	Alonso Ceja	MD	4	4 Nov 2016	AS Boxing Arena, Tijuana, Mexico
4	Win	4–0	Alonso Ronquillo Nunez	TKO	3 (4), 2:33	15 Oct 2016	Gimnasio Mariano Matamoros, Tijuana, Mexico
3	Win	3–0	Ulises Gabriel Rosales	TKO	3 (4), 1:34	15 Sep 2016	AS Boxing Arena, Tijuana, Mexico
2	Win	2–0	Hector Garcia	KO	1 (4), 1:05	19 Aug 2016	Gimnasio Mariano Matamoros, Tijuana, Mexico
1	Win	1–0	Adalberto Solares	TKO	3 (4), 1:00	18 Jun 2016	Plaza Fundadores, Los Algodones, Mexico