RING MAGAZINE FLYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION, MARLEN ESPARZA ANNOUNCED AS VIP GUEST AT GOLDEN BOY BOXING EVENT AT FANTASY SPRINGS ON MAY 12
April 29, 2022 – INDIO, CA – Newly crowned WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine Flyweight World Champion, Marlen Esparza is set as the VIP guest at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino on the Thursday, May 12 fight card. Doors open at 5 p.m. and matches begin at 6 p.m. Tickets to the event start at $25 and are available at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling (800) 827-2946, or online at www.FantasySpringsResort.com.
Born in Houston, Texas, Marlen Esparza began her boxing career at 12 years old after growing up in a household that loved the sport. In 2012, Esparza became the first American woman to qualify to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London, the first year that women’s boxing made its debut as an Olympic event. She won the bronze medal in the women’s flyweight division.
In 2017, Esparza became the first female fighter signed by Golden Boy Promotions, and to kick off her professional debut, Esparza took on Rachel Sazoff in a two-round match at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. She stayed busy the upcoming years fighting on the undercards of major events and fighting a total of five times at Golden Boy’s Coachella Valley home, Fantasy Springs.
In 2019, Esparza had her first world title opportunity, the WBA Flyweight Interim World Championship; but unfortunately, the fight was stopped prematurely in the 9th round because Esparza was severely cut from an accidental headbutt, so the decision went to the scorecards. However, the loss did not stop Esparza’s momentum as she came back with back-to-back victories over former world title challenger Sulem Urbina and Shelly Barnett.
Esparza had a successful year in 2021, with a unanimous decision victory against Ibeth Zamora Silva for the WBC Flyweight World Championship and successfully defended her new world championship title against former world champion Anabel “Avispa” Ortiz.
On April 9, 2022 as part of the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe, Esparza faced her toughest challenge to date, taking on five-division world champion Naoko Fujioka. The fight pitted the No.1 vs. No. 2 in the female flyweight division, granting them the honor of fighting for the first-ever Ring Magazine Female Flyweight World Championship. After 10-rounds of non-stop action from two of the mightiest female fighters in the flyweight division, the judges ruled in favor of Esparza unanimously, crowning her the new WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine World Champion.
As the VIP guest, Esparza will be in attendance for the fights and will be on hand to meet fans, sign autographs and take pictures inside the Special Events Center before the DAZN lifestream begins at 6 p.m. The meet-and-greet is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket to the event.
The Golden Boy Fight Night fight card is headlined by former world champion, Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta (22-3-1, 21 KOs) of San Juan, Puerto Rico, facing fellow countryman, Janiel Rivera (18-8-3, 11 KOs) in a 10-round super flyweight fight.
In the co-main event of the night, Victor Morales (15-0-1, 8 KOs) of Vancouver, Wash., will fight Alberto Torres (11-4-3, 4 KOs) of Sacramento, Calif., in a 10-round featherweight fight. Los Angeles’ Rudy Garcia (12-0-1, 2 KOs) will take on the veteran Diukl Olguin (15-22-5, 10 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico in an 8-round super bantamweight fight. Also on the card, Eric Tudor (2-0, 2 KOs) of Hollywood, Fla. will face Martez Jackson (5-6-3, 2 KOs) in a 6-round welterweight fight.
Victorville’s Daniel Luna will make his professional debut in a 4-round featherweight fight against Johnathan Berry (0-1) of Duncan, Okla. Lastly, Jimmy Brenes (1-0, 1 KO) of Hialeah, Fla. will fight in a scheduled 4-round welterweight event against an opponent to be determined. All bouts are set to stream live on DAZN and on the Golden Boy Boxing Youtube page hosted by Beto Duran and Boxing Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins starting at 6:00 p.m. PST.
Tickets for Golden Boy Fight Night start at $25 and are on sale now at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling 1-800-827-2946, or online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.
For more information, please visit www.FantasySpringsResort.com.
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