(OCT 26) Sarah Pucek took her young, unblemished record into the ring Saturday night facing Clara De La Torre in a four round featherweight bout at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. Pucek had fought twice before in Washington, and in both cases she was the crowd favorite. On Saturday, however, for a few moments in the fight, Clara De La Torre, a native of Cle Elum, Washington, had the fans that cheered loudest.

De La Torre had a height and reach advantage over Pucek, but she did not use those assets to her advantage. In the opening round De La Torre bent forward and fought much smaller than her lanky frame would allow. That meant Pucek had only to slip away from wide punches thrown level rather than down. Pucek jabbed to move inside and then popped her right to De La Torre’s head, a target well within reach.

Pucek employed the same tactic in the second round, using her jab to control the movement in the ring. De La Torre did at times try to use her reach advantage, but she too often missed the elusive Pucek.

In the third round De La Torre appeared to tire a bit. Instead of throwing straight, the punches came in the form of wide slaps, and those proved easy to avoid. Pucek quickened the pace of the fight mid round and landed with her jab and solid rights as the round closed.

In the fourth round De La Torre straightened her frame, she threw more straight punches, and there were moments when she moved Pucek around the ring. The change proved effective for De La Torre, and made the fourth round much closer.

At the end of the four, two judges scored the fight 40-36, the third saw it 39-37. Sarah Pucek would grab her third win in as many fights. Clara De La Torre dropped to 1-6.