Ricardo Sandoval, ranked No. 6 by The Ring and in the top five by the four major sanctioning bodies, continues climbing the ladder for a world title shot.

The experienced and more seasoned Sandoval (25-2, 18 KOS) leveraged his four-inch height advantage against Saleto Henderson (10-1, 7 KOs) to score a dominant yet workmanlike unanimous decision via scores of 100-90, 100-90, and 98-92 on all three cards in their 10-round fight.

Sandoval outslugged Henderson and tried to get him out of the fight all night Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, especially in the second half, but wasn’t able to land the impressive finish.

Sandoval landed 185 of 540 shots while Henderson connected with 78 of 505. Sandoval outlanded Henderson in every round.

Sandoval, a 26-year-old from Rialto, California, said coming into the clash that he was struggling to find fighters who wanted to face him. Henderson, a 25-year-old from Indianapolis, Indiana, fighting for just the second time since 2021, proved he wasn’t near the world-class level of competition Sandoval has been seeking in what amounted to be a stay-busy fight.

“El Nino” Sandoval had a solid 2024 campaign capped by a 10th-round KO win in July against former 108-pound titleholder Angel Acosta and an eighth-round stoppage in March against four-time title challenger Carlos Buitrago.

Sandoval could be in line for a title shot in 2025 against current champions Seigo Yuri Akui (WBA), Kenshiro Teraji (WBC), Anthony Olascuaga (WBO), and Angel Ayala (IBF). The Ring title is vacant.