- Gabriela Fundora is set to fight Marlen Esparza for the undisputed flyweight championship on January 6th, 2024, in Las Vegas. The fight promises to be a historic moment, as it will be the first time all four major flyweight titles are unified in the women’s division.
- Both Esparza and Fundora are undefeated champions, making this a highly anticipated showdown. Esparza (14-1, 1 KO), an American professional boxer from Houston is currently ESPN’s No. 1 ranked flyweight. She holds the WBC, WBA, and The Ring female flyweight titles. She made history as the first American woman to qualify for the Olympics in women’s boxing and won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
- Esparza earned additional accolades as a bronze medalist at the 2006 Women’s World Boxing Championship and a gold medalist at the 2014 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. She is known for her technical skills and high boxing IQ inside the ring.
Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs) from California, is trained by her father Freddy Fundora and is the younger sister of Sebastian Fundora, former junior middleweight interim champion. She is ranked No. 2 by ESPN and has fought three times in 2023, including a fifth-round TKO victory over Arely Mucino in October. Fundora may look to use her power and aggression over her opponent during the fight.
“Fundora is a very tall, bright and shining star. She put on one hell of a performance against the reigning champion! They made her quit and three in the towel. Fundora has power, reach, excellent ring IQ, and throws from angles like she’s surrounding you,” said boxing reporter Cynthia Conte in media reports after her last fight.
“We just stayed calm,” Fundora said in the post-fight interview after her last win over . “We’re not going to go rushing into the fight. That’s not smart. So we just stay calm, stay focused and stay in attack.
“And honestly at the end of the first round, we saw that she was hurt so I knew from there it was going to be a long night,” Fundora added.
- The fight will crown the first-ever undisputed flyweight champion and the lightest fully unified queen among all women in boxing.
