Meraz and Ortega make weight for WBA interim light flyweight title fight in Managua

The weight question is settled, and the title fight is still to come. Alma Meraz and Eveling Ortega both made the 108-pound limit on Thursday, which leaves the WBA interim light flyweight championship to be decided at the Olof Palme Convention Center in Managua.

Ortega has the home crowd. The Nicaraguan challenger has won seven straight fights, according to La Prensa, and that run has given her a title shot in her own country rather than on the road in Mexico. Meraz, the Mexican champion, is defending the belt. Her most recent defense, reported by the WBA, was a ten-round unanimous decision over Elizabeth López Corzo in Mexicali, where she relied on movement, a southpaw jab and counters.

The WBA frames the fight as a question of distance. Meraz wants to close space with pressure and body work. Ortega has quicker combinations and more movement, and needs room to use them without being pinned on the ropes. That is the sanctioning body's pre-fight read, not a result.

The belt is not the biggest in the division. The WBA's September rankings list Estefany Alegria Osorio as world champion at light flyweight, with Meraz as interim champion and Ortega at No. 4 among the challengers. A win would not unify anything.

The card also includes Bryan Blandón against Julio Cabrera for the WBO NABO bantamweight belt, and Miladae Santana-Rivera against Adriana Tobón for the WBO Latino women's light flyweight title. Coverage is on Canal 4 and ESPN KO. Watch whether Meraz can take away Ortega's space early, since that decides whether the home fighter's speed matters.