Yokasta Valle could not have picked a more appropriately named venue in her bid to usher in a new era.
The former three-division titlist is set to vie for her third strawweight title. Costa Rica’s Valle (31-3, 10 knockouts) will face multiple time title challenger Elizabeth López Corzo (11-6-5, 2 KOs) for the vacant WBC 105-pound title. ESPN Knockout will air their bout live this Friday from Camara de Ganaderaos in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Valle (31-3, 10 knockouts) fights for the second time since a heartbreaking defeat to Seniesa Estrada. Their March 29 RING championship saw Estrada (26-0, 9 KOs) win via unanimous decision to crown the first-ever undisputed strawweight queen. Valle turned over her IBF and WBO belts to Estrada, who defended her RING crown and WBC and WBA straps.
The divisional throne was since abdicated by Estrada, who abruptly announced her retirement earlier this month.
Valle always hoped for a rematch but now prepares to fill the void left behind by her longtime divisional rival.
“Whenever she is ready to return, I would be delighted to give her the opportunity for a rematch,” Valle told The Ring. “It’s a fight that people really want to see again.
“Until then, I will focus on my goals and continue to push myself towards more world titles.”
Valle rebounded from the Estrada defeat with her first knockout win in more than four years. The Ring’s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter stopped Ramandeep Kaur in the second round on July 20 in San Juan de Tibas, Costa Rica.
It was Valle’s first fight with Jacob ‘Panda’ Najar as her head trainer. Valle’s hope is that the union will lead to her fourth title reign. She won a belt at the female-exclusive 102-pound atomweight division and enjoyed unified title status at 105 and 108.
Valle, The Ring’s No. 1 strawweight, moved up in Nov. 2022 to dethrone IBF/WBO junior flyweight titlist Evelin Bermudez. She held the same two belts at 105, which she unified in a Sept. 2022 win over unbeaten Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen.
Valle vacated the junior flyweight titles in Dec. 2022 and remain at strawweight. It was where she yearned to become undisputed and called out Estrada at every turn.
The two met in a summit meeting earlier this year in Glendale, Arizona. Estrada had to fend off a late Valle rally to prevail on all three scorecards.
It left Valle dejected, as she believed she deserved the nod. However, she left the Desert Diamond Arena more confident than ever that she could gain revenge any time they ran it back.
That bout looks less realistic now than it did back then, as the 32-year-old Estrada decided to exit the sport on a high note.
“I’m surprised by the decision that Seniesa is retiring,” confessed Valle. “I have come to accept her decision, and I wish her the best in this new step of her journey. Like many of us, there comes a time when we are confronted with difficult decisions for the betterment of our well-being.”
