It took only a few minutes for Gabriela Celeste Alaniz to realize that she had been shortchanged in her first fight against Ring flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
“After the fight she was booed in the stadium, and it was even more noticeable when I read the comments on social media or when I arrived in Argentina,” said Alaniz. “It was incredible how much people supported me.”
After much pressure from public and press alike, the rematch was signed, and it will take place on Saturday in the Jose Ramirez vs. Rances Barthelemy undercard in Fresno, California. The fight will broadcast live on DAZN.
Alaniz, (14-1, 6 knockouts), who usually goes by Celeste and is nickhamed “Chucky” after the evil puppet from the terror movie franchise, is sure that her frustrating first fight against Esparza (13-1, 1 KO) has taught her enough for her to come up with a solid fight plan this time around.
“We already know each other, so I worked on specific things for this rematch,” said the 27-year-old Alaniz. “Knowing her so well is an advantage for me, so I used it a lot in my preparation for this one.”
Celeste “Chucky” Alaniz -Photo by Chris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
The previous fight was Alaniz’s first foray abroad, and as she quickly found out, it takes much more than just a good performance to grab a win in the lion’s den. She feels she’s much more prepared this time around.
“The fact that all the hard work I did in the ring was not enough was frustrating, and it affected me,” said Alaniz, knowns as an all-action brawler. “In that regard, I prepared myself to be more relentless in the ring, I worked on my accuracy too but also on my strength to connect with more power.”
Alaniz, known for her menacing throat-slashing gesture before and after her fights, is aware of the many menaces that come her way in high-stakes fights in her opponent’s backyard, but even after a young career developed mostly at home she feels comfortable with the added pressure.
“It doesn’t affect me in any way, it doesn’t add pressure. But in my mind I always know that this could mark a before-and-after in my career. I am going for what I truly want, so I am very focused and conscious of all that,” said Alaniz.
Another source of pressure will be the three belts (WBA, WBC and WBO) that will be a stake in this bout, but also the presence of the Ring belt will add an additional layer of glory to her potential victory. Should she win, Alaniz (rated at No. 2 by The Ring at 112 pounds) would join a select list of Argentine male fighters who held the fabled “Rocky” belt during their careers (Pascual Perez, Nicolino Locche, Carlos Monzon, Hugo Corro, Miguel Castellini, Sergio Martinez and Carlos Baldomir) and she would become the first female fighter to lift this historic title.
“It is a great motivation, because obviously it is a challenge, and adding the fact that I could be the first Argentine woman to achieve that is a great motivation for me,” said Alaniz, as she adds that “the first fight left a bitter taste at that moment, but at the same time I was in peace because of the work I had done with my team and because of the fact that I knew I had won the fight. But we were also aware of the risks we took by going in as the underdog.”
Diego M. Morilla has written for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
