After six rounds, Sulem Urbina “knew” she had won. She had been the aggressor throughout their bout on Saturday against the game, but unheralded Jhosep Vizcaino, but her heart sank slightly when one of the judges turned in a 58-56 scorecard for her opponent.

Another defeat after suffering back to back decision losses to world champion level fighters, and a draw to a lesser known trial horse over the past two years, would have been a devastating setback.

“I freaked out a little bit because I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen. I haven’t won since 2020 so mentally for me to go back in there, it took a lot. If I would have lost, I think that would have completely destroyed me in that moment,” said Urbina (13-2-1, 2 knockouts).

That card turned out to be an outlier, with the other two cards reading 60-54 and 59-55 in her favor, which were more in line with what most observers had seen at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.

Having her arm raised for the first time since her February 2020 bout against Noemi Bosques was the cure for what had ailed her in recent years.

“I tried my best not to pressure myself as much as I had in the past. I had pressured myself so much that I didn’t enjoy the moment sometimes,” said the 32-year-old Urbina, a promotional free agent who has fought most of her U.S. bouts on Golden Boy Promotions’ cards.

“I didn’t know how I was gonna perform. Yesterday I went in there not knowing how I was gonna feel or if I would win because I had so many doubts because I hadn’t won in so long.”

Urbina, who was born in Hermosillo, Mexico, had entered 2020 as a 12-0 contender, but suffered defeats to current RING flyweight champion Marlen Esparza and then-WBA flyweight champ Naoko Fujioka. A rehab fight in her hometown in Mexico last October went sideways as Urbina was held to a draw against Tania Garcia.

With her winless drought ended, Urbina turns her attention to the junior bantamweight division after having been a flyweight since turning pro in 2016. She says she’s ready to get back into a world title eliminator, and has picked out WBA 115-pound titleholder Clara Lescurat as her preferred target.

Lescurat (7-0, 3 KOs) of Buenos Aires, Argentina won the title in June, beating Maribel Ramirez by split decision. 

“I definitely feel that this fight was a step in the right direction and I believe I’m ready to step on the world stage already,” said Urbina.

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