Yokasta Valle and her team entered the ring for her title defense vaguely aware of the division’s other key result on the night.
An hour or so before Valle put her IBF and WBO strawweight titles on the line, Seniesa Estrada unified the other two belts with a ten-round shutout of unbeaten WBC titlist Tina Rupprecht (12-1-1, 3KOs). East Los Angeles’ Estrada (24-0, 9KOs) won by scores of 100-90 on all three scorecards to win another title while she defended her WBA strap for the third time.
Valle followed suit with her seventh overall strawweight defense and first as the unified IBF/WBO champ after a ten-round, unanimous decision win over Mexico’s Jessica Basulto. Scores were 100-90, 100-90 and 98-92 for Valle, who returned home for the well-earned victory Saturday evening at Club y Hotel Condovac La Costa, in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Just as Estrada called for an undisputed showdown next, her counterpart responded in kind.
“They all know, I will fight anyone,” Valle said after posting her fourteenth consecutive win. “Call me anytime. I have these two titles and am coming for all the belts.”
Valle (28-2, 9KOs) is now 9-1 in major title fights. The 30-year-old Nicaragua-born boxer now based in San Jose, Costa Rica posted her latest win just four months after a hard-fought win over IBF/WBO junior flyweight champ Evelin Bermudez to become a three-division champ. She quickly relinquished the belts at 108 pounds to return to strawweight, where she feels there still exists unfinished business.
Estrada and Valle have circled each other for the past two years. Their rivalry has intensified, mostly through social media but with hopes of quickly making its way to the ring.
“Let’s go get the unification and those other two belts,” vowed Valle. “The titles stayed here tonight and I’m bringing the other two back to Costa Rica.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox