Canada's Mary Spencer will put her WBA junior middleweight title on the line for the first time on Friday, March 14th when she squares off against Ogleidis Suárez of Venezuela. The bout will serve as the chief supporting bout on a card promoted by Eye of the Tiger Management, taking place at Espace St-Denis in Montreal. Headlining the evening will be a clash between Erik Bazinyan (32-1-1) and Steven Butler (35-5-1). Hailing from Wiarton, Ontario, Spencer is gearing up for her first fight of the year after capturing the WBA interim title last September with a unanimous decision victory over Germany’s Naomi Mannes (7-3-1). Shortly after, she was elevated to WBA champion status.

Spencer (9-2, 6 KOs), now 40 years old, boasts an impressive knockout ratio of over 60%. She kicked off 2024 with a first-round KO over American Sonya Dreiling (6-7) but had a setback in her lone fight of 2023, suffering a majority decision loss to Belgium’s Femke Hermans (18-5). Over her last five outings, Spencer has picked up three wins (two by stoppage) and two defeats.

On the other side of the ring, Suárez (31-5-1, 15 KOs) is looking to capitalize on momentum. The 37 year-old Venezuelan enters this title fight fresh off a second-round KO victory over Colombia’s Neisi Torres (13-17-1) earlier this year. A former 122-pound interim title holder who was briefly promoted to full champion in that lower weight class,  Suárez has had mixed results in recent years. Her last North American appearance came in 2022 when she suffered a fifth-round knockout loss to hard-hitting Shadasia Green (15-1) in the United States. Before that, she secured a stoppage win in 2020 against fellow Venezuelan María Pirona (1-7). Suárez has gone 3-2 in her last five fights and will be aiming to reclaim championship gold on Canadian soil.