Seniesa Estrada Announces Retirement from Boxing at Age 32

The Undisputed Minimumweight Champion Concludes a Historic 13-Year Career

Seniesa Estrada retires from boxing after 13 years / Kevin Estrada/Golden Boy/Getty Images.

By Moses Ochieng

Undisputed minimumweight champion Seniesa Estrada has announced her retirement from boxing at the age of 32, concluding a remarkable 13-year professional career.

The announcement didn’t come as a major surprise, especially after Top Rank recently aired the Fight Life series on ESPN+, where Estrada candidly discussed the challenges of the boxing industry and the physical and mental strain it has placed on her. Moreover, she married boxing and NBA journalist Chris Mannix over the summer, and the responsibilities of her new role as a wife may have also influenced her decision to step away from the sport.

"Seniesa Estrada is a spectacular person and fighter, and I know she can look forward to a happy and productive life outside the ring," Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said in a press release. "Everyone at Top Rank will miss promoting her boxing career."

Estrada claimed her first title, the WBA interim light flyweight belt, in 2019 with a dominant technical decision victory over former Olympian Marlen Esparza. She then made headlines by knocking out Miranda Adkins in one of women’s boxing’s most notorious mismatches. Following that, Estrada dropped from 108 pounds to 105, where she decisively outclassed Anabel Ortiz to capture the WBA minimumweight title.

After signing with Top Rank in July 2022, Estrada made a determined push for the undisputed crown. In March 2023, she unified titles by dominating then-WBC champion Tina Rupprecht. Four months later, she secured another victory with a unanimous decision over Argentina's Leonela Yudica. The culmination of her journey came in March when she triumphed in a heated bout against fellow unified champion Yokasta Valle, becoming the first-ever undisputed champion in the minimumweight division.

Estrada (26-0, 9 KOs) captured world titles in two weight classes and remained undefeated in seven title bouts. A consistent fixture on the pound-for-pound list, Estrada, who holds the record for the fastest knockout in women's boxing history—seven seconds—delivered her finest performances in the final stages of her Hall of Fame-worthy career.

 “Most of all, my team. We did everything we imagined I would do and more as a woman in a male dominated sport. It’s been one wild ride. Thank you for standing by me. I hope that my style of fighting is one that people will remember forever. Only God knows how long I’ve been contemplating this decision. Physically and mentally, I can’t continue anymore….” Estrada expressed on social media, thanking her family and friends, Bob Arum and Top Rank.