Yokasta Valle Talks Pressure & Being An Inspiration

The fight game can be a cruel one when it comes to women’s boxing, and gaining recognition of the sport is a tall task.. However, the lack of participants, as compared to men’s boxing, means you are up against the best in the game and there is no time to overthink a fight. On March 29 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ, women’s unified minimumweight champion Yokasta Valle (30-2, 9 KOs) will face Seniesa ‘Super Bad’ Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs), who is also a unified champion. This fight is huge for the women’s division and will pit two fighters who have a little bit of history with each other, which always adds to the anticipation.

It was June 2022 when Valle signed a co-promotional deal with Golden Boy at the heels of Estrada leaving the company for Top Rank. Although there was a rivalry brewing between them long before that, this chain of events forced the rivalry to become more public, and some unpleasant words were exchanged. 

For a while, it was questionable whether this fight would even happen, as Valle was headlining shows in Costa Rica while Estrada was doing the same in Las Vegas. After Estrada’s July fight against Leonela Yudica, Valle went into the ring, and the two women faced off, fueling the speculation that a fight between them was closer than ever. A deal was hammered out between Top Rank & Golden Boy, and now (barring a draw) we will crown, for the first time, a women’s undisputed minimumweight champion.

The fight fans know that both women are tremendous athletes, but Valle, in particular, knows what is at stake. She will be the odds underdog coming into fight night and has embraced the Rocky role of underdog looking to make it to the top. Her team even posted a training montage on social media with a song from the movie Rocky IV playing in the background.

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At the Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia press conference in L.A., Valle was in attendance, and FightsATW was able to catch up with the unified champion. While being surrounded by her team, Valle was comfortable and confident in her appearance as she approaches the biggest fight in her career. Valle told FightsATW, “I’m motivated to fight on March 29 for such a historical event, especially since it’s an undisputed title on the line. There hasn’t ever been a women’s undisputed minimumweight champion. I’m training extremely hard for this fight and more motivated than ever to win. We have worked hard and visualized this moment for years.”

With so much at stake, Valle knows that the boulder on her back, named “pressure”, gets heavier and heavier as we move closer to fight night. Whether it is genuinely affecting her or not, Valle presents a great poker face when asked about dealing with the pressure that comes with a big fight like the one she is about to have on the 29th.

“When it comes to boxing, there will always be pressure. Depending on the level of fights, I’ve always fought under some sort of pressure.” Valle continued, “When I’m in the ring, I forget about everything that is going on around me. I don’t keep telling myself that ‘I have to win’ because then I’ll lose focus on what I need to execute within the fight. It’s happened to many fighters, and you wonder why they didn’t throw enough punches if they were well prepared. For me, the cameras and attention are welcomed because it’s an important fight for women’s boxing. It continues to rise, and it’s up to us to keep that going.”

Although Valle and Estrada want to win, the real winners in this are all the little girls watching these two champions and seeing that they have an opportunity to pursue boxing and could have their own moment in the future. Valle is conscious of this and has a message for little girls and grown women who want to pursue a career in the sweet science.

“Keep pursuing your dreams regardless of what people tell you,” said Valle. “People would tell me that boxing isn’t for women. I want to show that if I can do it, then you can do it too. How far you go is based on what limits you give yourself. That’s the beauty of this sport. We are paving the way for the future of women in boxing. Stay disciplined, do not set limits on yourself, and keep your faith in God.”

Although Oscar Valdez will be facing Liam Wilson in the main event on ESPN+, the undisputed fight between Estrada & Valle is the one that has everyone’s attention—not only because of what’s at stake but also due to the hard path they both took to get here. This fight should not disappoint and should give all fans what they look for in boxing, which is entertainment value. In the end, Valle has some lofty expectations regarding what fans should anticipate that night.

“We will steal the show from Oscar Valdez and Liam Wilson. I dream of becoming an undisputed champion, just as I’m sure Estrada has too. Once the bell rings, I will do my part to give it my all. The fans will enjoy this one from start to finish.”

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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