Undefeated WBC/WBA/Ring Magazine minimumweight champion Seniesa Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs) will take on WBO/IBF champion Yokasta Valle (30-2, 9 KOs) for the undisputed minimumweight championship crown on Friday, March 29th at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
The match could have easily been headlined as the main event on its own card, but it’s featured as the co-main event for the Oscar Valdez versus Liam Wilson card. Both are very accomplished boxers who seek to surmount themselves as one of the best in the sport.
Yokasta Valle is a quick and agile boxer who’ll need her speed and movement to try to minimize Seniesa’s offense. Although she’s listed at 5’4, Yoka’s height is actually around 5 feet.
At the kick-off press conference, Yoka was wearing high heels and was at eye level with Seniesa during the face-off. She’s the smaller fighter and faces a tremendous challenge trying to outbox someone who’s been extremely effective against smaller-sized boxers.
Seniesa utilizes range and distance effectively and can box as both an orthodox and southpaw. The most challenging boxer to date for Seniesa appears to have been her last opponent Leonela Yudica (20-2-3, 1 KOs), a tall lengthy fighter, who normally fights as a flyweight but dropped down in weight for an opportunity to challenge Seniesa for her titles.
Although victorious, Seniesa struggled at times with Yudica’s long reach and her ability to jab from distance. Seniesa has been dominant against smaller sized boxers due to her power and ability to overwhelm them with volume. Seniesa throws on average 53.3 punches per round with a total connect percentage of 30.6 (Compubox).
Yokasta fills the mold and size of former champions and top contenders who were defeated by Seniesa and boxers like Tina Ruppercht, Maria Santizo, Anabel Ortiz, and Yenifer Leon.
Styles make fights, and those fighters all had varying styles, but Seniesa was able to make the necessary adjustments to neutralize their offensive attacks and penetrate their defenses.
Seniesa can box on the outside, get within range to land combinations, and then change her fighting stance all within a matter of seconds. She knows how to utilize her size and outmaneuver her opponents for position. She overwhelms them with power and output, causing them to retreat to evade her offensive attack.
Yoka has had much success against boxers whom she can box on the inside and land multiple combinations and boxers who’ve been similar in size to her. When she fought a bigger sized fighter in Evelin Bermudez (19-1-1, 6 KOs), she appeared to struggle at times with her size.
Bermudez kept her distance and boxed her on the outside, utilizing her long range and jabbing away. Seniesa should be able to do the same but much more effectively by controlling the pace of the match with her relentless pressure and overwhelming Yoka with her output and power.
Yoka may find it difficult to defend against such a barrage of punches, and her work rate may diminish as a result. She’ll find herself retreating and on her back foot, attempting to evade Seniesa’s power punches.
For Seniesa she must simply go out and execute her gameplan effectively, if she’s successful, she’ll make history by becoming the division’s first minimumweight undisputed champion.