Marlen Esparza


Marlen Esparza is an American professional boxer who is the former WBC, WBO, WBA and [The The Ring (magazine)|Ring (magazine)|Ring] female world flyweight champion.
As an amateur, in 2012 she became the first American female boxer to qualify for the Olympics, in the first year that women's boxing was an Olympic event, going on to win a bronze medal in the women's flyweight division at the London Olympics. This made her the first American woman winner of any Olympic boxing medal.
IG marlen_esparzaTHR marlen_esparza

Amateur career

Esparza won a bronze medal at the 2006 Women's World Boxing Championship, gold at the 2014 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, and bronze at the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships.
In 2012 she became the first American woman to qualify for the Olympics in women's boxing, in the first year that women's boxing was an Olympic event. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she defeated Karlha Magliocco, making her the first American woman winner of an Olympic boxing match. She won a bronze medal in the women's flyweight division, making her the first American woman winner of any Olympic boxing medal.
Esparza was voted the Houston Fighter Of The Year for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. She also won the inaugural Houston Female Fighter of the Year in 2022.

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.
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.
Esparza won her first professional world title by defeating WBC flyweight champion Ibeth Zamora Silva via unanimous decision at Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, on June 19, 2021.
She became a unified world champion when she scored a unanimous decision win over WBA title holder Naoko Fujioka at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, on April 9, 2022, in a contest which was also for the inaugural Ring female world flyweight championship.
On July 8, 2023, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, Esparza defeated Gabriela Celeste Alaniz by majority decision to add the WBO female flyweight title to her collection.
Esparza was scheduled to defend her WBA, WBC, WBO flyweight titles in a rematch against Alaniz on March 16, 2024, in Las Vegas but the fight was postponed due to challenger's US VISA issue. The fight eventually took place on April 27, 2024, at Save Mart Arena, Fresno, California, although Esparza missed weight by 2 lbs, and was ineligible to keep the titles in case of her victory. Alaniz won the contest by split decision.

Personal life

Esparza, who is of Mexican descent, graduated from Pasadena High School in Pasadena, Texas in 2007. She was the subject of Soledad O'Brien's 2011 CNN documentary In Her Corner: Latino in America 2.
She had an endorsement deal with CoverGirl cosmetics and appeared in a Spanish-language commercial for Coca-Cola. Esparza also appeared in an advert for animal rights group PETA.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
18Loss15–3Yokasta ValleSD10March 29, 2025Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico
17Win15–2Arely MuciñoUD10December 24, 2024Toyota Arena, Ontario, California, U.S.
16Loss14–2Gabriela Celeste AlanizSD10April 27, 2024Save Mart Arena, Fresno, California, U.S.Lost WBC, WBA, WBO and The Ring female flyweight titles - Esparza missed weight.
15Win14–1Gabriela Celeste AlanizMD10July 8, 2023AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.Retained WBC, WBA and The Ring female flyweight titles,
won WBO female Flyweight title
14Win13–1Eva GuzmanUD10August 6, 2022Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.Retained WBC, WBA and The Ring female flyweight titles
13Win12–1Naoko FujiokaUD10April 9, 2022Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.Retained WBC female flyweight title;
Won WBA and inaugural The Ring female flyweight titles
12Win11–1Anabel OrtizUD10December 18, 2021AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.Retained WBC female flyweight title
11Win10–1Ibeth Zamora SilvaUD10June 19, 2021Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.Won WBC female flyweight title
10Win9–1Shelly BarnettUD6March 5, 2021Dort Federal Event Center, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
9Win8–1Sulem UrbinaUD8October 30, 2020Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
8Loss7–1Seniesa Estrada9, 2:00Nov 2, 2019MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.For WBA interim female flyweight title;
Unanimous TD after Esparza was cut from an accidental head clash
7Win7–0Sonia OsorioUD8July 18, 2019Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
6Win6–0Jhosep VizcaínoUD8April 25, 2019Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
5Win5–0Laetizia Campana3, 0:11April 6, 2018Belasco Theater, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
4Win4–0Karla ValenzuelaUD6December 14, 2017Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
3Win3–0Aracely PalaciosUD6September 16, 2017T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
2Win2–0Samantha SalazarUD4May 6, 2017T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
1Win1–0Rachel Sazoff4March 23, 2017Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.