Gabriela Celeste Alaniz (center) holds her three belts at Luna Park Stadium on May 4, 2024 – Photo by Nelson Quispe/Boxeo de Primera
Gabriela Alaniz never gave up at this moment.
She envisioned her two fights with Marlen Esparza long before. That remained her ultimate goal, even after being denied a decision most should have gone her way in their first fight last July.
The highly questionable majority decision defeat ended Alaniz’s WBO flyweight title reign. In their rematch on April 27, the 28-year-old Argentine got her sweet revenge. Alaniz (15-1, 6 knockouts) prevailed on two of the three scorecards to take down Esparza to claim the Ring flyweight crown and the WBC, WBA and WBO belts.
Next is the last slide. Alaniz will face undefeated IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs). Their summit meeting on November 2nd at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas crowns the first ever undisputed flyweight champion.
“I’m more than ready to go in search of eternal glory,” Alaniz told The Ring. “It’s a great opportunity to realize the biggest dream and sweep all the titles.”
Alaniz-Fundora will be broadcast live on DAZN as the main support for the Floyd Schofield-Rene Tellez Giron lightweight bout.
Alaniz enters her fifth career title fight and her third straight in the U.S. Her first fight with Esparza did nothing to deter Alaniz or her team from returning stateside. In fact, ‘La Chucky’ impressed the Golden Boy Promotions staff so much that plans were already in place to bring her back regardless of a championship rematch.
Of course, reclaiming her crown certainly helped.
Alaniz and her team had to fight outside the ring just to make it happen. Georgina Rivero, Alaniz’s career-long promoter, filed a protest with the WBO, which agreed that an immediate rematch against Esparza was warranted.
It was enough to scuttle plans for an Esparza-Fundora undisputed championship clash earlier this year.
The development hardly forced Fundora to break ground. She won the IBF belt in a fifth-round knockout of Arely Mucino last October and has already submitted two successful defenses.
Alaniz did her part to derail Esparza. It opened a path to crown another undisputed champion on the women’s side of boxing.
“We are very proud to be a part of this historic fight for women’s boxing,” Rivero told The Ring. ” I am very confident about the champion who will represent Argentina. La Chucky is here to stay. His legacy has just begun.”
