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Esparza vs. Alaniz ends with a win for the American, but strange scorecards
Marlen Esparza (14-1, 1 KO) flew out of her corner like a bat out of hell to throw a wild overhand right at Gabriella Alaniz at the start of Round 1, and both women kept the same wild energy all the way through Round 10.
It was the first time Gabriella Celeste “La Chucky” Alaniz (14-1, 6 KOs) - nicknamed after the horror movie doll- had fought outside of her native Argentina, and she came to give everything she had in this title fight. Every round was nearly even, both fighters keeping a frenetic pace and throwing an equal mix of combos and power punches. Esparza suffered a cut over her left eye in Round 4 that trailed blood down her face but her corner was able to get it under control.
Esparza isn’t a knockout artist, with only one KO on her record, but Alaniz is - she’s won almost half of her previous fights by KO, which is unusual for the Flyweight division. Despite this, Esparza stayed in the pocket and traded punch for punch, though Alaniz walked through about 90% of them amazingly.
I had a tough time scoring this fight myself, as each round could have easily gone to either fighter - it was that close in my eyes. But the Texas judges did not agree - one scored it 95-95, but the other two scored the bout 97-93 and a mystifying 99-91 in favor of Houston native Marlen Esparza. Texas has a reputation of judging strongly in favor of hometown fighters, and the 99-91 scoring outraged the commentators. This isn’t to take anything away from Esparza - she put on a great performance, but the fight could have also gone for Alaniz.
So what’s next - for Esparza, a grudge match with former opponent Seniesa Estrada is on her mind - the only loss on her record. And for Alaniz, I very much hope we see her fighting in the US again soon - she’s an exciting fighter to watch.
Next weekend: Baumgardner vs. Linardatou 2
On July 15 in Detroit, Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner (17-1, 5 KOs) and Christina “Medusa” Linardatou (14-2, 6 KOs) will have their much-anticipated rematch. Linardatou bested Baumgardner in 2018, winning a close fight by split decision and delivering Bamgardner her first and only loss so far. Baumgardner went on to become undisputed at Junior Lightweight, so the loss didn’t hold her back, but she’s determined to rewrite history and make a statement about how far she’s come.
Speaking to Women’s Fight News in anticipation of her fight against Mikaela Mayer (this fight was canceled when the British Board of Boxing Control didn’t issue Linardatou a license), Linardatou said of Baumgardner, “I already beat her once, and I believe I can beat her again.” Since their 2018 fight, Linardatou has only lost to Katie Taylor by unanimous decision, which is a completely respectable loss. This fight will be the first fight since 2018 where Linardatou has a shot at world titles, so I’m sure her motivation is at an all-time high. You can watch her full interview with Women’s Fight News right here:
As far as fight predictions go, I think this is one that is difficult to call - Baumgardner has improved dramatically in both experience and skill since they last fought, but Linardatou has been able to improve also during that time - so if she had the edge before, she might still have the upper hand this time. I’m excited to see what happens!