WBA strawweight champion Seniesa Estrada will make her first appearance of 2023 when she fights in a unification bout against WBC champion Tina Rupprecht, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
The fight is expected to take place in the United States with a targeted date of March 25 as a cofeature fight, sources said.
It will be Estrada’s second fight for promoter Top Rank after splitting with Golden Boy Promotions last year. The 30-year-old last fought in November — after an 11-month layoff — beating Jazmin Gala Villarino by unanimous decision.
Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs) will be making the third defense of her WBA strawweight title, which she won by defeating Anabel Ortiz in March 2021. Estrada, ESPN’s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter and No. 1 strawweight, has also held the WBO junior flyweight title and the WBA interim flyweight title.
The 30-year-old Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs) defeated Rocio Gaspar by unanimous decision on Dec. 10. She has held the WBC title since 2018, and before that, the interim WBC crown. This will be the fifth defense of her noninterim world title.
Rupprecht’s best win came against current IBF and WBO strawweight titleholder Yokasta Valle by unanimous decision for the interim WBC title in 2018.
This would be the second time Rupprecht has fought outside her native Germany as a pro and the first time in the United States. She defeated Yana Denisova in Russia in 2016.
