BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Estrella Valadez, Bakersfield star female boxer, began fighting when she was 10 years old. Now, with only two years of experience, she is currently the best in the nation.
“It feels good," said Valadez, a three-time national boxing champion. "It feels very accomplishing. I would have never thought I would have done that. Like, I would have thought I would have fought a little bit, but I didn’t think three national championships.”
Valadez is the youngest daughter of five and says her brother first introduced her to boxing. Meanwhile, her father says he always knew she could be a fighter.
“So actually my dad asked me. We were outside and he was like you want to start boxing?" explained Valadez. "I was wearing my braids and stuff. I was like 'yeah, sure,' and he was like 'okay, let’s go' because my dad was like a person who says 'yes' to everything and he was like 'c’mon okay don’t be scared.' Then he went to tell my mom and my mom was like 'I don’t think,' so I was like 'come on, mom, yes.'”
Valadez's mother hesitated at the thought of her daughter lacing up her gloves to step in the ring, however.
“I wasn’t in agreement because it seems to me that it was a sport for men, and well for a young girl, it seemed very dangerous," explained Mierna Meza, Valadez's mother, in Spanish. "In the end, I had no choice but to support her.”
Valadez's mother agreed to let her try fighting to see how it went. Once she saw her daughter’s skills, she gave her full support to continue. However, that wasn't Valadez's only challenge.
Heading to the gym to train for the first time brought mixed emotions for Valadez, as she was a girl joining a gym with only boys. However, she says her excitement and nerves motivated her to prove herself as a boxer.
“Okay, I’m trying a new thing I've never tried before," said Valadez. "I saw a lot of boys at the gym, so I was like 'I'm the only girl here. I'm going to try and do good.'”
In a room full of boys, Valadez is often the only girl in the ring. She says that pro-fighter Makayla Mayers inspires her and that she values having other women boxers to look up to. Her parents think that having female role models in the sport help show their daughter that she too can succeed as a pro-fighter one day.
“Right now, it’s no longer a sport dominated by men," said Meza. "Now there are women demonstrating that women can also do a sport that’s strong and heavy and they are demonstrating it very well because, like her, there are other girls who also follow and are professionals. They’re an example for her and they continue advancing. It’s not for just men anymore.”
Valadez's coach Daniel Alcala agrees.
“It’s hard, you know?" asked Alcala. "It’s hard for these women to, the way boxing is. But now, [I'm] thankful for these girls who are fighting right now on the big stage. They’re opening a lot of doors for this younger generation... Before, I’ll be honest, I never watched a girl fight. Now, we sit down, watch, and 'oh, there’s gonna be an all-girl card' and sometimes they put on better shows than guys do.”
Alcala coaches Valadez and her sister but he says he’s never worked with a female boxer as talented as her before. He says that during her first fight, six months after her start in boxing, he noticed her instinctual footwork and natural technical skills.
“She knows how to control the ring," said Alcala. "She knows how to control a fight. She’s real hard to land on... She’s real hard to land on. She has good timing, good reach, and when it’s time to fight, she’ll stand in there and fight also.”
Valadez has one more day of training before she fights to add yet another medal to her collection at a national competition in Detroit. As a three-time national champion, she says she is confident as she prepares for her next match.
“Well before the fights, trying to make weight is a really big challenge and trying not to be too heavy and staying in that weight," said Valadez. "When you’re in the ring, the challenge is not to be lazy, to try and get the points.”
Her coach says she is anything but lazy. He says Valadez’s hard work and dedication to success caught his eye from day one and that winning three national titles and one international title is no easy feat.
Valadez went through districts, state, regionals, and nationals. At each level, she fights for three rounds against three to five different opponents. She must reign as champion in each to move to the next level.
It takes over 4 months of work to get to nationals, where she competes with the best of the best, coming out victorious multiple times now. However, regardless of how many fights she wins, her parents still feel nervous for her.
“In the first place, we entrust God that they don’t get too damaged, neither my daughter nor the girl she’s fighting that night," said Valadez's father, Noe Valadez, in Spanish. "But there is still a lot of nerves."
Her coach trains her at his friend's gym in Arvin. After he closed his gym in Bakersfield due to COVID-19, everyday training includes a three-mile run, 15 minutes of jump ropes, shadow boxing, sparring, and bag work
Valadez's opponents' blood stains her white gloves and her face, marking yet another small victory for the young fighter as she prepares for her big competition.
“I want to do it to make my parents proud and to show everybody what I can do," said Valadez.
Before moving to Bakersfield over 20 years ago, Valadez's parents lived in Guadalajara, Mexico. Her parents say win or lose, they are so proud to watch their daughter pave her own legacy and succeed at the highest level at such a young age.
“There are heroes in Mexico, like Julio Cesar Chaves, that made a story but to see my blood, my daughter, succeed now when it’s one on one? It’s not a game of soccer," said Noe. "It’s one-on-one, and to be a winner? It’s a great satisfaction for me.”
Meanwhile, Valadez says she’s staying humble before her matchups and looking forward to the competition.
“I feel good," said Valadez. "I don’t feel confident because if you feel too confident, then anything can happen. So I believe in myself that I can do good, but yeah, I feel excited.”
After her fight, Valadez will box in her next major competition at the Junior Olympics in April, but for now, she's hoping to bring another big win back home to Bakersfield
