Latin Women In Sports: Costa Rica's Yokasta Valle Is a Champion Inside and Outside The Ring

The narrative of women in sports often finds itself relegated to the sidelines. It is our mission to change that, to amplify their accomplishments and to weave a tapestry of stories that inspire and empower. Our weekly column Latin Women in Sports seeks to applaud their triumphs, break down barriers, and champion the idea that in sports, as in life, every voice deserves to be heard.

SEATTLE - Champions come in different shapes and sizes. In Yokasta Valle's case, her reputation as one of the best female fighters in the light divisions of boxing has taken her to heights hard to imagine. Born in Nicaragua but raised in Costa Rica, Valle has carved her own path and is now one step away from writing a golden page in the history of Tico boxing.

On March 29, Valle will collide with Seniesa Estrada in a fight that will see both fighters attempt to become the undisputed minimumweight champion. This will mark the first time in history that the undisputed minimumweight title will be up for grabs. "To be the first Costa Rican to be an undisputed champion...wow. I used to dream with a world title and to think I could end up with five?," said Valle in an interview.

Valle captured her first world title in 2016 at the atomweight class and has held the IBF minimumweight belt since 2019. She was named "Female Fighter of the Year" in 2021 by the International Boxing Federation and will make the sixth title defense of her career against Estrada.

Ranked as the best pound-for-pound boxer according to BoxRec's rankings, the two-weight division champion has won each of her last 17 fights and remains unbeaten since 2018, when she lost against Germany's Tina Rupprecht in 2018.

Valle won't have it easy, as Estrada is an elite fighter herself. Currently the holder of the WBC/WBA/Ring Magazine belts, Estrada has won each and every single one of her 25 professional bouts, nine of them via KO.

The 31-year-old has served as an example for girls and young women to dabble in the world of boxing. One of her younger sisters started at a very young age and Valle herself has admitted to being proud of how her hard work has influenced others to believe in themselves. "It's a beautiful feeling when you see that future generations will have it easier in the sense that more and more people are watching us...we are normalizing that boxing is not just a sport for men," she told ESPN.

But not only is Valle a champion inside the ring, she has partnered with organizations like the United Nations to also be one outside of it. "World championships satisfy me, but what really makes my heart full is being able to be an example for girls and young women that we can be champions in all scopes of life. There's nothing a woman can't do," Valle said in an interview with the UN.

Her work outside of the ring hasn't been short of outstanding, as Valle hasn't let the success of her boxing career interfere with her acts of altruism. She launched her own sportswear brand "Become," a sustainable brand that is produced solely by women and has also been an avid supporter of migrants rights.

"Throughout my life I have faced discrimination for being a migrant and for being a woman, but my reaction was always to grow and now I am a world champion," Valle told the UN.