Ricardo Rafael Sandoval

Ricardo Rafael Sandoval is an American flyweight who rose from regional cards in Mexico and California to become a unified world champion. An orthodox fighter from Rialto, California, Sandoval stands 168 cm with a 170 cm reach. He entered the pro ranks as a teenager and developed into a high-output puncher, compiling a reported 27–2 record with 18 stoppages before and including his world-title unification in July 2025. Sandoval turned pro in 2016 and spent his early years fighting frequently on local cards in Tijuana and elsewhere along the U.S.–Mexico border. That debut period produced a string of early stoppage wins but also included his first professional setback, a TKO loss to Alonso Ceja in November 2016. He rebuilt momentum through 2017 and 2018 with a mix of early knockouts and decision wins, stepping up to four- and six-round assignments as his experience grew. In April 2019 Sandoval stepped into regional title competition, stopping Christian Aranda Orenday to capture the vacant WBC Youth Intercontinental Flyweight belt. He followed that with another WBC Youth Intercontinental Flyweight victory in July 2019 over Marco Sustaita, then maintained activity through 2019 and 2020 with further knockout wins. Sandoval’s résumé gained international attention in 2021 when he stopped Jay Harris by eighth-round KO in Bolton, England, and later that year he scored a seventh-round TKO of Carlos Buitrago at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The following year he suffered a narrow majority-decision loss to David Jiménez over 12 rounds in Los Angeles (July 2022), his second career defeat, but returned with consecutive wins across 2023 and into 2024, including a second encounter with Carlos Buitrago that ended in an eighth-round RTD at the YouTube Theater. In mid-2024 Sandoval captured the vacant WBC Silver Flyweight title with a late stoppage of Ángel Acosta and then defended the Silver belt with a unanimous decision win over Saleto Henderson in February 2025. The ascent culminated in July 2025 when Sandoval defeated Kenshiro Teraji in Yokohama to claim both the WBC and WBA world flyweight titles in a unification bout. That victory made him the unified WBC and WBA world flyweight champion. Now established at the top of the flyweight division, Sandoval’s career path shows steady advancement from regional youth titles and domestic stops to recognized world championship status. His punching power, reflected in 18 stoppages, and experience across domestic and international venues underpin his standing as one of the division’s leading figures.