Seniesa Estrada finally gets the fight she has longed for when she confronts Yokasta Valle in Glendale, Arizona on March 29.
“It’s relief and excitement,” the WBA and WBC minimumweight champion said of the undisputed title fight with her Costa Rican rival, the IBF and WBO champion, to ProBox TV.
“It has been years in the making. But as we were saying is that even though it has been years in the making trying to make this fight, there is no better time to do it now because women’s boxing has been the best that it has been, ever. I’m happy we were able to get this exposure on this platform.”
LA’s Estrada, 31, will fight Valle, her long-time rival, to determine who is the leading fighter at 105lbs.
They previously shared the same promoter in Oscar De La Hoya, until Estrada signed for Bob Arum’s Top Rank in 2022 after growing disillusioned under Golden Boy Promotions.
Estrada and De La Hoya hugged at a press conference, mid-Teofimo Lopez-Jamaine Ortiz fight week, but she said of the split: “It is something that I always take personally because it is my career. Nobody knows what I went through with that situation, but I don’t want any animosity with Oscar and Golden Boy Promotions during the build-up to this fight. I just wanna fight; I just want to go in there and walk out of the ring as undisputed champion. That will be the best feeling; better than all the talking I can do.
“It is huge. I’ve been trying to get eyes on these lower weight divisions because we have it with Amanda Serrano, Katie Taylor, Mikaela Mayer. All those weight classes are stacked and have had eyes on them, but there has never been a fighter like me to bring that exposure and a platform to the lower weight divisions. I’m glad we will be able to do it.
“This will be the first undisputed champion at minimumweight ever. It is the fight that the fans wanted to see, so it will definitely bring eyes. And probably if they have not seen both of us fight and if they hear about the tension, it will make them tune in to watch the fight.”
Estrada wants to be recognised as an all-time great fighter, not just all-time great female fighter. The date between she and the 31-year-old Valle is the chief support to Oscar Valdez-Liam Wilson. The two-minute round round format in women’s boxing has regardless been cited as something that holds it back.
“I’ve been wanting to go to three minute rounds since I first turned pro,” she explained. “Three minute rounds is something that can help women’s boxing because we would be able to show better ring IQ, skill level and we would just have more time. I think that is something that I would like to see change for sure, but also just the best fighting the best.
“That is something fight fans will want to see – two highly skilled fighters being matched up with each other. That’s what is going to help for sure. And of course the biggest promoters in boxing are signing women and putting them on platforms.”
