Seniesa ‘Super Bad’ Estrada makes her Top Rank debut on Saturday against Jazmin Gala Villarino.
WBA minimumweight champion Seniesa ‘Super Bad’ Estrada (22-0) makes her long-awaited return to the ring this Saturday as part of a doubleheader streaming live on ESPN+. Her opponent, Jazmin Gala Villarino (6-1-2), will make her U.S. debut and currently holds the ‘Gold’ version of the WBA strap.
A lot can happen in a year, and no one would have thought that in 2022, Estrada would be fighting under the Top Rank Banner instead of Golden Boy Promotions. Estrada expressed her desires publicly and during negotiations that she wanted to be further compensated as she has quickly become a fan favorite with her aggressive come-forward style.
Estrada told FanSided, “The offer from Top Rank was all around great for me. It’s not a secret that the reason why I parted with Golden Boy was because I wanted more money, and we just couldn’t come to an agreement on what I wanted and what I deserved.”
Estrada continued, “The deal with Top Rank was a no-brainer, and it’s everything I wanted and more. I feel like Top Rank is very good at what they do, very good at promoting their fighters and the marketing that comes with it and the ESPN platform.”
Going through that process meant Estrada was out of the ring, and for any fighter, that causes frustration which is precisely what she felt during her inactivity. She would see opponents in and around her weight class staying active while she stood on the shelf figuring out what her future would look like. Although she felt this way, Estrada thinks that the timing of her return couldn’t have come at a better time as women’s boxing had a banner year which will see one of the more exciting fighters close it out with a big performance.
Seniesa ‘Super Bad’ Estrada vs. Jazmin Gala Villarino will be streaming live on ESPN+
Saturday’s opponent Villarino looks to do what any fighter would when given a primetime slot on a card, and that’s to “show out.” “My opponent is a tough opponent out of Argentina, and she is going to come to win. Every one of my opponents comes in better than they ever fought and train harder than they ever have. They know it’s their opportunity to come in here and pull the upset. I just prepared to be the best me possible. I feel much stronger, sharper, and better all-around physically and mentally,” said the 30-year-old Estrada.
While the boxing business was slowly getting together, Estrada had other opportunities outside of the ring that presented themselves. While working with Lebron James and his ‘Uninterrupted’ media company, which is a platform for athletes to speak on different things, Estrada partnered with a sports nutrition company called ‘Ladder.’ This company was founded by Lebron James & Arnold Schwarzenegger and is building its athlete partnerships which now have Estrada as part of the team. Although heavy names are attached to the company, Estrada still needed to like the product linked to the company she was partnering with.
Estrada told FanSided, “I have tried multiple supplements, but most of them don’t taste good (laughs). When Ladder came on, I tried it to see how everything tasted, made me feel, and it tasted amazing. It’s something that I have to put into my body every day, so not only does it taste good, but it makes my body feel great. Lebron has been very supportive and really wants to support women’s boxing. I’m just excited to be sponsored by Ladder. Hopefully, we can get more athletes and fighters to hop on board with Ladder.”
While Estrada was teaming up with Ladder, she also found an opportunity to join the wild bunch over on the social media app Twitter. It was the opening of this account where we all got to witness the spicy side of Estrada come out as she holds no punches back, just like she does in the ring. You will find everything from getting at her bitter rival Marlen Esparza to replying with some quick Twitter jabs to trolls who try to smear her name. Estrada told FanSided, “(Laughs) It’s tough to run my social media. My friend helps me with my Facebook and Instagram accounts. Social Media isn’t my thing, but I know I have to do it because that’s the world that we live in. I never wanted to get on Twitter as I didn’t know what it was for. Mikaela (Mayer) convinced me in April of this year while we were in N.Y. for the Taylor-Serrano fight. She said, ‘Dude, you have to get on Twitter. I’m telling you, it’s good for you. You should just create one and tweet what’s on your mind’. That’s just what I do, but I’m still getting used to it (laughs).”
Lastly, Estrada knows how frustrating it has been for those waiting on her to return to the ring and had this to say, “I just want to thank everyone for their support. I wasn’t asking for a million dollars a fight and out-pricing myself. I just didn’t want to be kept in a box for how much money I could make because then women’s boxing would never grow as a sport. No other women coming up would get those opportunities if I didn’t stand up and do it for all of us. I’m back and better than ever. As they say, ‘A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter,’ and it’s so true because I’m happy with where I’m at right now, and I know I have such much to prove, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do on Saturday.”
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