Seniesa Estrada is headed to the ring sooner than originally anticipated…
The 30-year-old Mexican American WBA and WBC strawweight champion’s next fight is on the move again — this time a shorter journey than before.
Estrada will now headline an ESPN+ card on July 28 at The Palms in Las Vegas, the night before the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. megafight in the same city, ESPN reports.
The fight had been planned for July 29, but the announcement of Spence-Crawford meant it made sense to push it up if possible, especially with both bouts taking place in Las Vegas.
The opponent for Estrada (24-0, 9 KOs), who is ESPN’s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter and the WBA and WBC strawweight champion, is still being finalized. It is the first headliner appearance for Estrada since she signed with Top Rank last year.
Estrada last fought in March, when she beat Tina Rupprecht by unanimous decision to unify the WBA and WBC belts. It’s the second time in three fights that Estrada will be fighting in Las Vegas at The Palms; her first Top Rank fight, a win over Jazmin Gala Villarino, was held at the site in November.
Seniesa Estrada is months away from her highly anticipated return…
The 30-year-old Mexican American WBA and WBC strawweight champion will make her return to the ring on July 22, according to ESPN.
It will be Estrada’s second fight of 2023.
The opponent and location for the fight have yet to be determined.
Estrada last fought in March, when she beat Tina Rupprecht by unanimous decision to become the unified champion at strawweight. It was Estrada’s second defense of her WBA title.
Undefeated Estrada (24-0, 9 KOs) is ESPN‘s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter and top-rated strawweight. She has held titles at strawweight and junior flyweight in her career and the interim world title at flyweight.
She said after her win over Rupprecht that she would like to become undisputed at strawweight, where she currently holds two belts. Yokasta Valle is the IBF and WBO strawweight champion.
“I want to tell the other champion at 105 pounds that I’m whupping you next,” Estrada said in March. “You can get it next. I am the best in this division, and I know it. I want to prove it by being undisputed.”
The 30-year-old Mexican American boxer defeated Tina Rupprecht by unanimous decision — 100-90 on all three cards – on Saturday night to become a unified champion at strawweight.
In addition to retaining her WBA championship, Estrada claimed Rupprecht’s WBC title.
It was a dominant performance from Estrada, ESPN‘s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter. She rarely let Rupprecht get comfortable and other than a couple of strong punches landed on Estrada’s face in the first three rounds of the fight, it was a clinical performance from the East Los Angeles native.
Walking out in her traditional cape — pink, this time — and to Alicia Keys‘ “Girl on Fire,” Estrada’s usual high-paced output began from the start and continued throughout. She landed at least 20% of her punches in all but one round and over 30% of her power punches in seven of 10 rounds.
Estrada (24-0, 9 KO) focused a lot on the body — 57% of her landed punches were body punches — and her 67 body punches landed were more than the 63 punches Rupprecht landed throughout the entire fight.
She almost doubled up Rupprecht (12-1-1, 3 KO) in punches landed (118-63) despite throwing a somewhat similar number of total punches (473-414). Rupprecht landed 10 or more punches in a round just once — the seventh round, when it was clear Estrada was in control and headed toward unifying the WBA and WBC belts.
The way Estrada moved her hands — constant, and not just at Rupprecht, but in unconventional movement all over the place to keep the angle and levels of her punches unpredictable, was unique. It helped open up windows for her to land body shots and combinations on Rupprecht, who suffered the first loss of her career.
“By taking away her right hand,” Estrada said in the postfight in-ring interview, “I took away her only weapon.”
Estrada said she wanted to focus on the jab in the fight, in part because of Rupprecht’s height at 4-foot-10, and she threw 178 jabs, landing 16 of them. She said she combined that with her power to put herself in the position to dominate the fight.
After the fight, Estrada made clear what she’d like next — Yokasta Valle retained her IBF and WBO strawweight titles in a unanimous decision win over Jessica Basulto in Costa Rica on Saturday night as well. Rupprecht and Valle fought in 2018 — with Rupprecht winning a unanimous decision in her native Germany.
“I want to tell the other champion at 105 pounds that I’m whooping you next,” Estrada said in the ring after the fight. “You can get it next. I am the best in this division, and I know it. I want to prove it by being undisputed.”
The 30-year-old Mexican American professional boxer and WBA strawweight champion will make her first appearance of 2023 when she fights in a unification bout against WBC champion Tina Rupprecht, according to ESPN.
The fight is expected to take place in the United States with a targeted date of March 25 as a co-feature fight, according to ESPN.
It will be Estrada’s second fight for promoter Top Rank after splitting with Golden Boy Promotions last year. She last fought in November — after an 11-month layoff — beating Jazmin Gala Villarino by unanimous decision.
Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs) will be making the third defense of her WBA strawweight title, which she won by defeating Anabel Ortiz in March 2021. Estrada, ESPN’s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter and No. 1 strawweight, has also held the WBO junior flyweight title and the WBA interim flyweight title.
Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs) defeated Rocio Gaspar by unanimous decision on December 10. She has held the WBC title since 2018, and before that, the interim WBC crown. This will be the fifth defense of her non-interim world title.
Rupprecht’s best win came against current IBF and WBO strawweight titleholder Yokasta Valle by unanimous decision for the interim WBC title in 2018.
This would be the second time Rupprecht has fought outside her native Germany as a pro and the first time in the United States. She defeated Yana Denisova in Russia in 2016.
The 30-year-old Mexican American boxer will defend her WBA strawweight title against Jazmin Gala Villarino in a co-feature bout on November 12, the first fight of her contract with Top Rank.
Estrada (22-0, 9 KO) will be fighting for the first time in 2022.
She last fought on December 18, 2021, beating Maria Micheo Santizo by knockout in the fourth round in San Antonio.
This will be the second defense of her WBA belt after winning it from Anabel Ortiz in March 2021 by unanimous decision and then defending it against Santizo in December.
Villarino (6-1-2, 1 KO), from Argentina, has not lost since her debut in 2016 and beat Judith Vivanco by unanimous decision in her last fight in March. This will be Villarino’s debut in the United States. The exact location for the fight has not been announced.
Having fought the majority of her career in her native Argentina, her past two fights have taken place in Colombia and Mexico.
The 30-year-old Mexican American boxer, the WBA strawweight and WBO junior flyweight champion, has left Golden Boy and signed a multiyear deal with Top Rank.
Estrada is the second female fighter to sign with Top Rank, joining Mikaela Mayer, who signed a three-year contract extension earlier this year.
“It’s awesome,” Estrada told ESPN. “It’s like, I’m excited to get back in the ring.”
Estrada’s first Top Rank fight will be later this year, with the possibility of being in November. She said her contract is similar in finances to that of Mayer, who signed a deal for seven figures over the length of the agreement.
Estrada said she and Mayer talked a lot about the financial side of their contracts — a first for Estrada in speaking with another fighter — and it gave her comfort in what she was asking for.
Mayer and Estrada have become friendly in recent months — Mayer even convinced Estrada to join Twitter in April — and now the two will be the main women’s faces for the same boxing promotion.
Money, Estrada said, was part of this. Golden Boy had been her initial high-level promoter and she had done well there, reaching a 22-0 record with nine knockouts — including a seven-second knockout of Miranda Adkins on July 24, 2020 that was the fastest in women’s boxing history.
Estrada, originally from East Los Angeles, had been an active fighter for much of her pro career other than longer breaks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Estrada had hoped to be in the ring earlier this year — she was going to fight in August — but terms couldn’t be agreed upon.
Estrada said part of the reason for her departure from Golden Boy was “I wanted more money, what I felt I deserved.”
Estrada said she also spoke with Eddie Hearn at Matchroom Boxing when she sought a new promoter and almost went with the United Kingdom-based boxing promotion.
Hearn had given her a competitive offer, Estrada said, and the chance to main event and co-main event on DAZN cards. But Estrada said the Top Rank offer made more sense for her — in part because of the platform her fights would be on due to the deal between Top Rank and ESPN.
“Just the whole platform wise and exposure wise would be so much better for me so besides them giving me what I was happy with,” Estrada said. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to that. I’m excited about it.”
Estrada is also the rare women’s fighter who has fought a three-minute round fight as a professional — her technical decision win over Marlen Esparza on November 2, 2019 was a 10-round, three-minute-per-round contest that was stopped after the ninth round due to a cut Esparza suffered as part of an accidental head butt.
Estrada said Top Rank has told her she will often be the main event or co-main event on cards she is on. She also offers the promotion another chance to build fights in Los Angeles, where the No. 6 pound-for-pound fighter in ESPN’s ratings is a draw both because of her Mexican American heritage and because she grew up in and still lives in the area. The 5-foot-2 Estrada has fought 17 of her fights in California.
“That’s definitely something that they want, so I’m happy with that,” Estrada said. “Especially in L.A., they want to put on more shows here in L.A. and knowing that I’m from here, they are hoping I can be able to sell.
“…In L.A., definitely, yeah. I would like to get the chance to show that. That would be great.”
After months out of the ring waiting for a fight, the 29-year-old Mexican American boxer and WBA strawweight champion will take on 35-year-old Mexican professional boxer Anabel Ortiz on August 6.
The fight against Ortiz will be a rematch of her fight on March 20, 2021, when she won the strawweight title in a unanimous decision win over Ortiz in which she knocked the former champion down in the first round and dominated the fight.
Estrada (22-0, 9 KO), ESPN‘s No. 6 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, last fought in December, when she knocked out Maria Micheo Santizo in the fourth round.
This will be Estrada’s second defense of her title.
Ortiz (31-5, 4 KO) has lost her past two fights — by unanimous decision to Estrada, where she lost her title, and then last December to Marlen Esparza in a fight for the WBC flyweight title.
Before her loss to Estrada, Ortiz had a 21-fight win streak dating back to 2012, when she was defeated by Yesica Yolanda Bopp. Four of Ortiz’s five career losses came in world title fights.
Seniesa Estrada is celebrating a record-setting win…
The 28-year-old Mexican American boxer, an unbeaten junior flyweight, needed just seven seconds to finish off an overmatched Miranda Adkins as part of the DAZN card on Friday night at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
As the opening bell rang, Estrada (19-0, 8 KOs) stunned Adkins immediately with a three-punch combination, then followed with a four-punch salvo, punctuated by a left hook that sent Adkins to the canvas.
In doing so, Estrada scored the fastest knockout in women’s boxing history.
“It was the outcome I expected,” Estrada said. “I give her respect for stepping into the ring with me while having a 5-0 record. If it weren’t for her, I probably wouldn’t have had an opponent tonight, so I thank her.
“Hopefully, next time I can fight someone who is a world champion.”
Adkins (5-1, 5 KOs), a late replacement for Jacky Calvo after Calvo suffered a knee injury, came into Friday’s fight undefeated. But four of Adkins’ wins came against opponents making their pro debut, and the other came against a foe who was winless in two fights.
“I give Adkins so much credit because she stood up and took the fight,” Estrada said. “Due to the COVID situation, we tried to get current champions, former champions, and Miranda was the only one who stepped in to take the fight. I had more experience than her in the professionals and amateurs, so I let my punches go and couldn’t stop. I knew the outcome would be a knockout, for sure, but didn’t know how long it would take.
“I want all the champions; I’m ready for it. At 105 pounds, 108 pounds or 112 pounds. I want Anabel Ortiz, who has the WBA title at 105, and Yesenia Gomez, who has the WBC title at 108. I want a world champion fight. Marlen Esparza, l will give her the rematch. Let’s go!”
According to Guinness World Records, the fastest knockout in boxing history was in a Golden Gloves tournament in Minneapolis on November 4, 1947, when Mike Collins knocked out Pat Brownson in four seconds.
As previously expected, the 22-year-old highly regarded Mexican American welterweight will face veteran Samuel Vargas on July 24 in Golden Boy‘s first fight card since the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to boxing events across the world in mid-March.
The card will take place at the Fantasy Springs Casino Resortin Indio, California.
“We’re just excited, happy to be back with our fighters,” said Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions.
“Especially a guy like Vergil who was scheduled to fight before the shutdown. He was 10 days out from fighting, so I’m just happy he gets to fight again, and we’re back at it.”
For the time being, Golden Boy’s cards in California will be held without an audience.
Ortiz (15-0, 15 KOs) is considered one of boxing’s best young fighters. The Grand Prairie, Texas native has stopped everyone he has faced thus far as a professional. In 2019, Ortiz stopped Mauricio Herrera in three rounds, and then Antonio Orozco in six.
Ortiz and Vargas were originally scheduled to clash on March 28 at The Forumin Inglewood, California, before that card was canceled.
“I’m very thankful and excited to be headlining the first Golden Boy event after the quarantine,” said Ortiz, who has been training with Robert Garcia in Riverside for the past few weeks. “I’m happy that it’s still with the same opponent, so basically we’re picking up where we left off. It’s going to be a tough fight, and it’ll be a great way to kick off the year for me.”
Ortiz is facing a seasoned veteran in Vargas (31-5-2, 14 KOs), who has faced Amir Khan, Luis Collazo, Danny Garcia and Errol Spence over the course of his career.
“I think that everything happens for a reason,” said Vargas, who has been in Las Vegas in recent weeks, preparing for this bout. “I think this time off benefited me. I’m ready to upset the world. I believe I can come out with the win. The world is a weird place right now. The show will be different. There will be no fans, but I have no doubt I’m going to win.”
As Golden Boy officials began to put this card together, they found a rather limited pool of options to draw from, in terms of selecting boxers.
“There’s a lot of guys that just weren’t ready,” Gomez said. “They hadn’t been to the gym because [gyms] were closed, they didn’t train, do road work, sparring or anything. Now it’s a little better, but we’re not in the clear yet.”
The co-feature scheduled for July 24 is a 10-round lightweight contest between Hector Tanajara (19-0, 5 KOs) and Mercito Gesta (32-3-3, 17 KOs). Other fights include an eight-round middleweight bout between Shane Mosley Jr. (15-3, 9 KOs) and Jeremy Ramos (11-8, 2 KOs), a women’s junior flyweight fight between Seniesa Estrada (18-0, 7 KOs) and Jacky Calvo(12-5-2, 1 KO), and a clash between prospects Hector Valdez and Evan Sanchez.
There’s no indication when spectators will be allowed back into any sporting events, and from Golden Boy’s perspective, the hope at this point is just to try to get the first few cards off the ground smoothly.
“It’s hard to say. It’s scary. You’ve seen the numbers, they’ve been rising again,” Gomez said. “There have been surges in Florida, here in California. I don’t know what the governor is going to decide. I just hope we don’t get shut down again.”
The 30-year-old Mexican American boxer will box on Golden Boy Promotions’ “Thursday Night Fights” series (DAZN/RingTV.com, 10:00 pm ET) on March 19 at the Avalon in Hollywood, California.
Esparza joins a card that includes Joet Gonzalezand Lamont Roach, all coming off decision losses in world title bouts.
Esparza (7-1, 1 KO), who was a 2012 U.S. Olympicbronze medalist, will face Lucia Nunez(7-10), 29, of Mexico, in a six-round, women’s junior bantamweight bout.
In Esparza’s last fight, on November 2 in Las Vegas on the Canelo Alvarez–Sergey Kovalevundercard, she lost a ninth-round technical decision because of a bad cut from an accidental head-butt against rival Seniesa Estradafor a vacant interim women’s flyweight title.
“I’m ready to get back in the ring,” Esparza said. “There were multiple factors that made this last fight a real learning experience, but this next round of professional boxing is just the beginning of much more. I’m looking forward to coming out with the new strategies that I’ve been learning and switching up my game a bit.”
Gonzalez (23-1, 14 KOs), 26, of Glendora, California, will square off with former world title challenger Chris Avalos (27-7, 20 KOs), 30, of Lancaster, California, in a 10-round featherweight fight.
Gonzalez will be fighting for the first time since he faced bitter rival Shakur Stevenson for a vacant featherweight world title on October 26 in Reno, Nevada, and lost a near-shutout decision.
“I can’t wait to step back into the ring,” Gonzalez said. “I fought for a world title, so I know what it’s like to be at that level. Now, I’ll be coming back with an even stronger desire to become a world champion. This March 19, I will not disappoint.”
Avalos has lost two fights in a row but has vast experience, including in losses in world title bouts to Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz and to Oscar Valdezin a nontitle bout.
“We’re coming to win,” Avalos said. “We’re back on track. The old Chris Avalos is back. (Gonzalez) may think I’m a joke. You may think I’m washed up. But I’m coming to kick your ass. Keep your hands (up) or you will see what happens.”
Roach (19-1-1, 7 KOs), 24, of Washington, will face Neil John Tabanao(17-7, 11 KOs), 25, of the Philippines, in a 10-round junior lightweight bout in the co-feature.
Roach will be in the ring for the first time since he lost a competitive unanimous decision as the mandatory challenger for 130-pound world titlist Jamel Herringon November 9 in Fresno, California.
“I’ve been itching to get back in that square to show that I’m the best at 130,” Roach said. “My last fight was just a glimpse, but this year it’s all the way up with me.”
Tabanao is coming off three 10-round decision losses in a row, all against undefeated fighters.
“I’m looking forward to this fight against Lamont Roach Jr.,” Tabanao said. “I know that he’s coming off his first loss and that he wants to fight for a world title again. However, I more experience than he, and I know how to score an upset.”
Estrada will now headline an ESPN+ card on July 28 at The Palms in Las Vegas, the night before the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. megafight in the same city, ESPN reports.
