Ricardo Rafael Sandoval (born February 5, 1999) is an American professional boxer. He is the unified flyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the World Boxing Association (WBA) titles since July 2025.[1]
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]
On 10 June 2023, Sandoval faced Rocco Santomauro at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.[13] He won the fight by unanimous decision with the judges awarding Sandoval scores of 98–92, 96–94, and 96–94.[14]
Sandoval faced Victor Efrain Sandoval on 21 October 2023.[15] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[16]
Sandoval was scheduled to have a rematch with Carlos Buitrago in a super flyweight bout on 30 March 2024.[17] 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.[18]
On 6 July 2024, Sandoval faced Ángel Acosta for the vacant WBC Silver flyweight title.[19] 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.[20]
Sandoval was scheduled to defend his WBC Silver flyweight title against Saleto Henderson on 15 February 2025.[21] 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.[22]
Sandoval was scheduled to challenge Kenshiro Teraji for the unified WBA and WBC flyweight championship on 30 July 2025.[23] He overcame a fifth round knockdown to win via split decision.[24][25] One judge scored the bout 114–113 in favor of Teraji while the other two scored it for Sandoval, 115–112 and 117–110.[26][27]
| 29 fights | 27 wins | 2 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 18 | 0 |
| By decision | 9 | 2 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Win | 27–2 | Kenshiro Teraji | SD | 12 | 30 Jul 2025 | Yokohama Buntai, Yokohama, Japan | Won WBA and WBC flyweight titles |
| 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 |
