Marlen Esparza
Esparza at the 2012 ALMA Awards
Born (1989-07-29) July 29, 1989
Pasadena, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Statistics
Weight(s)Flyweight
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Reach64 in (163 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights15
Wins14
Wins by KO1
Losses1
Medal record
Women's amateur boxing
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2012 LondonFlyweight
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2014 JejuFlyweight
Bronze medal – third place2006 New DelhiLight flyweight
Bronze medal – third place2016 AstanaLight flyweight

Marlen Esparza (born July 29, 1989)[1] is an American professional boxer who held the WBC female flyweight title since June 2021 and the WBA and The Ring female flyweight title since April 2022, and the WBO one since July, 2023. As an amateur, she became the first American woman to qualify for the Olympics in the first year that women's boxing was an Olympic event,[2] going on to win a bronze medal in the women's flyweight division at the 2012 Olympics in London.[3]

Amateur career

Esparza, who is of Mexican descent, graduated from Pasadena High School in Pasadena, Texas in 2007.[4] Esparza won a bronze medal at the 2006 Women's World Boxing Championship,[5] gold at the 2014 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, and bronze at the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships.[6]


Esparza was the subject of Soledad O'Brien's 2011 CNN documentary In Her Corner: Latino in America 2.[7] She was the subject of an extensive profile in the June 2012 issue of The Atlantic,[8] which discusses in detail her childhood, education, and her intense commitment to competition and training.

Marlen Esparza was voted the Houston Fighter Of The Year (an award that encompasses both professional and amateur boxers) for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.[6]

Professional Career

In December 2016, she signed a contract with Golden Boy Promotions and subsequently made her pro debut on ESPN's March 23, 2017 opening card of a multi-year deal with Golden Boy. She won that fight, which was against Rachel Sazoff.[9]

She faced Seniesa Estrada for the WBA interim female flyweight title on November 2, 2019 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The bout formed part of the undercard for Canelo Álvarez vs Sergey Kovalev. The bout was stopped at the end of the ninth round, on the advice of the ringside doctor, after Esparza suffered a cut in the fifth round from an accidental clash of heads, handing her the first defeat of her professional career by way of a unanimous technical decision.[10]

Esparza has an endorsement deal with CoverGirl cosmetics.[8] She also appeared in a Spanish-language commercial for Coca-Cola.[11] In addition, she collaborated with animal rights group PETA and posed in an ad to urge the public to speak up for abused animals.[12]

Professional boxing record

15 fights 14 wins 1 loss
By knockout 1 0
By decision 13 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
15 Win 14–1 Gabriela Celeste Alaniz MD 10 Jul 8, 2023 AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Retained WBC, WBA and The Ring female flyweight titles,
won WBO female Flyweight title
14 Win 13–1 Eva Guzman UD 10 Aug 6, 2022 Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. Retained WBC, WBA and The Ring female flyweight titles
13 Win 12–1 Naoko Fujioka UD 10 Apr 9, 2022 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Retained WBC female flyweight title;
Won WBA and inaugural The Ring female flyweight titles
12 Win 11–1 Anabel Ortiz UD 10 Dec 18, 2021 AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Retained WBC female flyweight title
11 Win 10–1 Ibeth Zamora Silva UD 10 Jun 19, 2021 Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S. Won WBC female flyweight title
10 Win 9–1 Shelly Barnett UD 6 Mar 5, 2021 Dort Federal Event Center, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
9 Win 8–1 Sulem Urbina UD 8 Oct 30, 2020 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
8 Loss 7–1 Seniesa Estrada TD 9 (10), 2:00 Nov 2, 2019 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. For WBA interim female flyweight title;
Unanimous TD after Esparza was cut from an accidental head clash
7 Win 7–0 Sonia Osorio UD 8 Jul 18, 2019 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Jhosep Vizcaíno UD 8 Apr 25, 2019 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Laetizia Campana TKO 3 (8), 0:11 Apr 6, 2018 Belasco Theater, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Karla Valenzuela UD 6 Dec 14, 2017 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Aracely Palacios UD 6 Sep 16, 2017 T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Samantha Salazar UD 4 May 6, 2017 T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Rachel Sazoff UD 4 Mar 23, 2017 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.

References

  1. ↑ "Marlen Esparza". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  2. ↑ Bearak, Barry (May 15, 2012). "U.S. Has Its First Female Olympic Boxer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  3. ↑ "U.S. middleweight Claressa Shields advances to gold-medal bout". www.cbsnews.com. August 8, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  4. ↑ Rich, Nathaniel (July 9, 2012). "Marlen Esparza: Going the Distance". Vogue. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Team USA: Marlen Esparza". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2012-05-30.
  6. 1 2 "Working Out With Team USA". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  7. ↑ "Latino in America 2: In Her Corner – Educator and Parent Guide". CNN. September 22, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-06-21. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Aleksander, Irina (June 2012). "American Sweetheart". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2012-06-10. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Esparza cruises to victory in professional debut". 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  10. ↑ Idec, Keith (November 2, 2019). "Seniesa Estrada Beats Marlen Esparza Via Technical Decision". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  11. ↑ Kallen, Jackie (May 24, 2012). "Jackie Kallen on Women's Olympic Boxing: Marlen Esparza". Boxing Insider. Archived from the original on 2012-05-29. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  12. ↑ Torres, Ignacio (January 29, 2013). "Olympic boxer Marlen Esparza is ready to fight animal cruelty". NBCLatino.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-22. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
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