Yokasta Valle: “I will make history for Costa Rica”
WBO/IBF minimumweight world champion Yokasta Valle wants to make history for Costa Rica, but standing in her way is a fellow pound-for-pound queen for whom this rivalry has become personal.
Valle will face WBC/WBA/Ring Magazine world champion Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada in a highly anticipated undisputed minimumweight showdown on Friday, March 29 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Estrada-Valle will serve as the co-feature to the 12-round junior lightweight main event between former two-weight world champion Oscar Valdez and one-time world title challenger Liam Wilson.
Valle (30-2, 9 KOs) claimed the vacant IBF atomweight world title by defeating Ana Victoria Polo in December 2016. Nearly three years later, she moved up and snatched the IBF minimumweight world title from Joana Pastrana in August 2019.
Valle added the WBO title to her collection with a victory over Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen in September 2022. Since then, she has successfully defended her unified crown four times, including a decision win over Anabel Ortiz in November. Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs), a 13-year pro and two-weight world champion, looks to end a longstanding rivalry by fully unifying the division.
Following a recent training session at Wild Card Boxing Club, this is what Valle had to say:
“This fight is very important because becoming undisputed champion is a dream of mine and because I’d be making history for Costa Rica and for all Latinos. It’s also important because of the many years of effort in putting women’s boxing where it is now.”
“If she’s not concentrated on this fight and is thinking about other things that have nothing to do with it, then it can be to my advantage. If when she steps into the ring she’s thinking about my trainer or about something else, then I feel she will be distracted.”
“You will see the best version of me in this fight. I’m aggressive, and I’m a warrior. When the bell rings, I like to throw lots of punches. So you will see a Yokasta who is very aggressive and who will throw lots of punches, to the point where she won’t know where they are coming from!”
“My coach knows her really well. But aside from that, I have an advantage because she is also an excellent trainer. It’s because of that and not because she’s known her since she was a kid. She knows how to work with me. We have a great connection.”
Valdez-Wilson & Estrada-Valle headline a stacked card streaming live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with No Limit Boxing, tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.