 On August 12, 2000, he lost by seventh round disqualification for repeated low blows to Beibis Mendoza for the vacant WBA light flyweight title.He later avenged this loss by twelve round split decision to claim the title.In his following fight, he faced Pichit Siriwat, who had previously defended the same WBA title five times before being stripped of it in 2000 for failing to defend it against Alvarez.