The 18-year-old titleholder pitched a one-sided unanimous decision (100-90, 98-92, 98-92) against Balderas, her third defense of the year after going the distance against Claudia Ruiz in February and Perla Perez in August.

Mexico's Zamorano (16-0, 1 KO) has been heavily criticised for looking vulnerable against lesser opposition and not maximising her physical gifts. While matchmakers have been carefully handling her career, the challenges will intensify when she does move up in weight as the depth of talent deepens.

The Ring's No. 2-rated atomweight benefited from the WBC's one-pound allowance, otherwise she would have been stripped of the 102-pound title after weighing 102.96lbs on Wednesday.

The sanctioning body's rule has been in place since August 2024 for world title weigh-ins and while looking gaunt after boiling her frame down, she rehydrated well and matters went off without controversy on fight night.

"It really takes a lot of effort for me to go down. I'm in the middle of that [decision], to talk properly with my coach about what we're going to do, what comes next and talk it through with Mauricio [Sulaiman, WBC president]."

She embraced the criticism, which intensified after highly-rated contender Esneidy Rodriguez (14-0-1, 1 KO) won elsewhere on the same card. Elsewhere, The Ring's No. 1 rated atomweight Sumire Yamanaka makes her first IBF title defense in a unification with WBA beltholder Isabel Rivero on November 21.