Marlen Esparza (born July 29, 1989) is an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who held the WBC female flyweight title since June 2021 and the WBA and ''The Ring'' female

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

title since April 2022. As an amateur she became the first American woman to qualify for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

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

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London.

Life

Esparza who is of Mexican descent, graduated from Pasadena High School in

Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the twentieth most populous city in the state of Texas, as well as the second-largest cit ...

in 2007. Esparza won a bronze medal at the 2006 Women's World Boxing Championship, gold at the

2014 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships The 2014 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships was initially scheduled to be held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. from September to October 2014. Boxing Canada withdrew from hosting when it could not find a venue that was available for dates sui ...

, and bronze at the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships. Esparza has an endorsement deal with

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989 and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics li ...

cosmetics. She also appeared in a Spanish-language commercial for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

. In addition, she collaborated with animal rights group

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

and posed in an ad to urge the public to speak up for abused animals. Esparza was the subject of

Soledad O'Brien María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien (born September 19, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and executive producer. Since 2016, O'Brien has been the host for ''Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,'' a nationally syndicated weekly talk show ...

's 2011

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

documentary ''In Her Corner: Latino in America 2''. She was the subject of an extensive profile in the June 2012 issue of The Atlantic 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. In December 2016 she signed a contract with

Golden Boy Promotions Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is an American boxing promotional firm based in Los Angeles, California. The company was established in 2002 by eight-time world champion (in six divisions) Oscar De La Hoya, borrowing his nickname "Golden Boy." Histo ...

, and she 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 Seniesa Carmen Estrada (born June 26, 1992) is an American professional boxer who has held the WBA minimumweight title since March 2021. She previously held the WBC Silver light flyweight title from 2018 until 2021 and the WBA interim flyweig ...

for the WBA

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

female

title on November 2, 2019, at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. Sporting events From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...

. The bout formed part of the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

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 A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt. In boxing fights, referees have to pay deep attention to the action going on between the fighters, especially when the two combatants are fightin ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * * * * *
Marlen Esparza
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Esparza, Marlen 1989 births Living people Baptists from Texas Boxers from Houston American women boxers American boxers of Mexican descent LGBT boxers LGBT people from Texas American LGBT sportspeople American bisexual people Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in boxing Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pasadena High School (Pasadena, Texas) alumni AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships medalists Pan American Games medalists in boxing Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Boxers at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century American women Bisexual sportswomen Flyweight boxers World flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions The Ring (magazine) champions