Ricardo Sandoval


Ricardo Rafael Sandoval is an American professional boxer. He is the unified flyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Association titles since July 2025.

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. He won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout.
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.
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. Despite coming into the fight as a slight underdog, 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
On 10 June 2023, Sandoval faced Rocco Santomauro at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. He won the fight by unanimous decision with the judges awarding Sandoval scores of 98–92, 96–94, and 96–94.
Sandoval faced Victor Efrain Sandoval on 21 October 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Sandoval was scheduled to have a rematch with Carlos Buitrago in a super flyweight bout on 30 March 2024. He stopped Buitrago after eight rounds. The referee stopped the fight between the eighth and the ninth due to the ringside doctor's observation of the accumulated damage on Buitrago's face.
On 6 July 2024, Sandoval faced Ángel Acosta for the vacant WBC Silver flyweight title. The referee controversially stopped the fight in the 10th and final round, handing Sandoval the victory. "I wasn’t hurt," Acosta said after getting backed to the ropes by Sandoval's pressure. Regardless of the stoppage, the scorecards had Sandoval winning by a wide margin, 88–83, 89–82, and 87–84.
Sandoval was scheduled to defend his WBC Silver flyweight title against Saleto Henderson on 15 February 2025. He won the bout by unanimous decision, with scores of 98–92, 100–90, and 100–90. According to CompuBox, Sandoval outlanded Henderson in total punches, 185 to 78.

WBA and WBC flyweight championship unification

Sandoval was scheduled to challenge Kenshiro Teraji for the unified WBA and WBC flyweight championship on 30 July 2025. He overcame a fifth round knockdown to win via split decision. One judge scored the bout 114–113 in favor of Teraji while the other two scored it for Sandoval, 115–112 and 117–110.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
29Win27–2Kenshiro TerajiSD1230 Jul 2025Yokohama Buntai, Yokohama, JapanWon WBA and WBC flyweight titles
28Win26–2Saleto HendersonUD1015 Feb 2025Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.Retained WBC Silver flyweight title
27Win25–2Ángel AcostaKO10, 1:236 Jul 2024Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, U.S.Won vacant WBC Silver flyweight title
26Win24–2Carlos BuitragoRTD8, 3:0030 Mar 2024YouTube Theater, Inglewood, California, U.S.
25Win23–2Victor Efrain SandovalUD1021 Oct 2023Kia Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
24Win22–2Rocco SantomauroUD1010 Jun 2023Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, U.S.
23Win21–2Jerson OrtizKO2, 2:4618 Feb 2023Pomona Fox Theater, Pomona, California, U.S.
22Loss20–2David JiménezMD1216 Jul 2022Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
21Win20–1Carlos Buitrago7, 0:464 Dec 2021MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
20Win19–1Jay Harris8, 2:1225 Jun 2021Bolton Whites Hotel, Bolton, England
19Win18–1Raymond Tabugon7, 1:436 Feb 2020Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
18Win17–1Gilbert Gonzalez5, 2:2516 Nov 2019Plaza De Toros, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
17Win16–1Marco Sustaita5, 1:1618 Jul 2019Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.Retained WBC Youth Intercontinental flyweight title
16Win15–1Christian Aranda Orenday6, 2:0718 Jul 2019Bufalo Wild Wings, Culiacan, MexicoWon vacant WBC Youth Intercontinental flyweight title
15Win14–1Abisai Palomo Ochoa4, 1:5124 Nov 2018Oasis Hotel Complex, Cancun, Mexico
14Win13–1Oscar Vasquez84 May 2018Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
13Win12–1Victor Hugo Reyes817 Mar 2018Gimnasio Burocratas, Tijuana, Mexico
12Win11–1Irving Fierro Verdugo2, 3:009 Feb 2018Gimnasio Independencia, Tijuana, Mexico
11Win10–1Efrain Gonzalez48 Dec 2017Gimnasio Independencia, Tijuana, Mexico
10Win9–1Brent Venegas617 Nov 2017Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
9Win8–1Pedro Antonio Rodriguez64 Aug 2017Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
8Win7–1Oskar Jesus Talla Davalos1, 2:444 Aug 2017Escape Bar, Tijuana, Mexico
7Win6–1Benjamin Solares1, 1:5227 Jan 2017AS Boxing Arena, Tijuana, Mexico
6Win5–1Hector Garcia1, 1:1314 Jan 2017Gimnasio Municipal Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tecate, Mexico
5Loss4–1Alonso Ceja44 Nov 2016AS Boxing Arena, Tijuana, Mexico
4Win4–0Alonso Ronquillo Nunez3, 2:3315 Oct 2016Gimnasio Mariano Matamoros, Tijuana, Mexico
3Win3–0Ulises Gabriel Rosales3, 1:3415 Sep 2016AS Boxing Arena, Tijuana, Mexico
2Win2–0Hector Garcia1, 1:0519 Aug 2016Gimnasio Mariano Matamoros, Tijuana, Mexico
1Win1–0Adalberto Solares3, 1:0018 Jun 2016Plaza Fundadores, Los Algodones, Mexico