Marlen Esparza knows she hasn’t seen the last of Seniesa Estrada.
She just doesn’t want to hear from her until that day comes when they agree to meet again.
More words were exchanged in the latest round of their years-long rivalry. The most recent comments came immediately after Esparza’s ten-round win over Argentina’s Gabriela ‘La Chucky’ Alaniz to unify the lineal, WBC, WBA and WBO flyweight titles Saturday evening at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Esparza (14-1, 1KO)—a 2012 Olympic Gold medalist and unifled flyweight champ—has now won seven in a row since her Nov. 2019 defeat to East Los Angeles’ Estrada (24-0, 9KOs). She has dethroned three flyweight titlists along the way, which only further fueled her lone conqueror to point out the current scoreboard.
“I’m Esparza’s FIRST loss and I’m going to be her LAST LOSS too,” Estrada emphatically stated after Esparza’s win.
The comment made its way to Esparza, who was unequivocal in her desire to avenge her lone career defeat.
“I want you to put out this statement and put it out there as many times as you need to,” Esparza told BoxingScene.com. “I want her scrawny ass now. I want the fight with her.”
The more realistic next step for Esparza is a likely showdown versus IBF titlist Arely Mucino to fully unify the flyweight division. BoxingScene.com has learned that fight could happen as soon as October.
Mucino (32-3-2, 11KOs) was medically cleared in June to resume training after a prior injury which required surgery.
Estrada is currently in camp for a June 28 ESPN headliner versus Argentina’s Leonela Paola Yudica (19-1-3, 1KO), the former IBF flyweight titlist whom Mucino defeated last October to become a four-time titlist in two weight divisions.
With a win, Estrada will resume her focus on fully unifying the strawweight division. That would mean a fight versus unified IBF/WBO titleholder Yokasta Valle (28-2, 9KOs) before making the leap to flyweight for what could become undisputed versus undisputed in 2024.
Esparza will be perfectly fine with that route and now has all but dared her lone career adversary to act in kind.
“Until she says ‘Yes,’ don’t tweet to me,” insisted Esparza. “Unless it says, ‘I do,’ you have no right to say my name in a tweet. I’m telling you, I want that fight.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox