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
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 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 ...
in
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
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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