Marlen Esparza

Marlen Esparza (born July 29, 1989) is an American professional boxer who is the former WBC, WBO, WBA and Ring female world flyweight champion. As an amateur, 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, going on to win a bronze medal in the women's flyweight division at the 2012 Olympics in London. This made her the first American woman winner of any Olympic boxing medal.

Amateur career
Esparza, who is of Mexican descent, graduated from Pasadena High School in Pasadena, Texas 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, 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. In the 2012 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 the subject of Soledad O'Brien's 2011 CNN 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.

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

Esparza vs. Alaniz
On July 8, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas, Esparza defeated Gabriela Celeste Alaniz by majority decision to unify WBC, WBA and WBO flyweight titles.

Esparza vs. Alaniz 2
On March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Esparza was scheduled to defend her WBA, WBC, WBO flyweight titles in a rematch against Gabriela Celeste Alaniz. On March 7, 2024 it was announced that the fight was postponed due to Alaniz's US VISA issue. The rematch eventually took place on April 27, 2024 in 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.