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Flyweight
Esmeralda
"La Joya" Gutiérrez
Moreno was
born on 7 July 1987 in Chimalhuacan,
Mexico.
She entered boxing to learn to protect herself after witnessing a case of domestic
violence with one of her neighbors.
"I
said, when I get to marry, nobody
is going to put a hand on me. I
learned to defend myself and then I did not stay in
high school and I started to train." She found
that she enjoyed the
atmosphere in the gym and gradually became convinced that she
should fight competitively. She is coached by Victor
"Cowboy" Diaz.
She
made her pro debut at age 17 on April 20, 2005 at Salon
Fascinacion in Mexico City, winning a four-round unanimous
decision over fellow debuter Clara Perez.
On May 21, 2005 at Discoteca
Esfinge in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico she won a four-round unanimous
decision over Claudia Hernandez, who was making her pro debut.
On August 6, 2005 at Arena
Coliseo in Mexico City, she won a four-round unanimous decision over
debuter Graciela Nino.
On November 4, 2005 at Salon
Metropolis in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, México, she won a
four-round
unanimous decision in a rematch with Claudia Hernandez, who fell to 0-2.
On April 21, 2006 at Salon
Marbet Plus in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, Esmeralda (108 lbs) won
a
six-round unanimous decision over Yadira Rosales (112½ lbs) of Mexico
City who fell to 1-3.
On June 7, 2006 at Salon
Sagitario in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, Esmeralda TKO'd Mayela Perez of
Saltillo, Mexico in the final round of a scheduled six-rounder.
Perez fell to 7-4-1 with the loss.
On August 4, 2006 at Salon
Emperador in Iztacalco, Mexico, she TKO'd Gloria Rios in the
sixth
round of a scheduled eight-rounder. Rios, who had been
fighting
professionally since 1999 and had previously faced Ana Maria Torres and Mariana Juarez, fell to 3-6-1
(0 KO's) with the loss in her last pro bout.
On March 30, 2007 at
Arena-Casino
Los Fresnos in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico, Esmeralda lost to Susana Vazquez
of Toluca, Mexico by a 93-97,95-96,95-95 majority decision in
a
ten-rounder for the vacant Mexican bantamweight title.
On August 2, 2007 at Vive
Cuervo Salon in Mexico City, Esmeralda lost by a split decision to Ibeth Zamora Silva
of San Cristóbal Huichochitlán, México in a six-rounder.
Zamora improved to 2-0 (0 KO's) with the win.
On September 14, 2007 in
Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico, Esmeralda TKO'd Magaly Jazmín
Avalos in an eight-rounder for the Mexican Bantamweight title.
On November
30, 2007 at the DM-Arena in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Alesia-Tamara Graf (113½
lbs) of Germany won a ten-round unanimous (97-93,97-94,
98-92) decision over
Esmeralda Moreno (113 lbs) defending the GBU Junior Bantamweight title.
WBAN correspondent Torben L. said
that "Esmeralda
Moreno's disadvantage in height and reach was compensated by speed, a
good and repertoire of punches and the courage to take Graf's punches
to get in close. The
first round went clearly to the Mexican, who caught Graf with a couple
of very powerful right hands, and had her backed up in the corner twice
and used the opportunity to work her over with some very good
combinations to the body and head.
When Graf sat down after the
first round, she had that "Oh no, not one of those days" expression on
her face. The second round began pretty much as the first ended, with
Moreno cornering Graf and punishing her with some very good body
punches. Graf looked slightly better in this round, but Moreno stayed
focused and kept marching forwards, which ought to have won her the
round. In the following rounds, Graf was able to get through with more
punches, although Moreno made an immediate payback in most of the time.
Graf's corner kept telling to keep her distance, and when began
following the advice, she was able to score with her counter punching,
and did not get caught on the ropes as often as she did in the early
rounds. In the later rounds Moreno lost some of her precision, and
began missing more punches, but she still kept coming forward until the
final bell. The
fans gave both boxers loud and well deserved applause for an action
packed and well fought bout, but the announcement of the scores, 97-93,
97-94 & 98-92 was received with widespread booing by the
Karlsruher crowd. Many had no doubt seen the gutsy Mexican as the
winner of this fight."
Graf improved her record to 19-1 (8 KO's) with the
win.
On February 23, 2008 in San
Cristóbal Huichochitlán, México, Esmeralda Moreno won a ten-round
rematch with local favorite Ibeth
Zamora Silva for the interim Mexican Flyweight title
by a majority (97-93,97-93,96-96) decision. Zamora,
who fell to 3-1 (0 KO's) with the loss, says she was "not
as mentally prepared" for the fight as Moreno.
On August 30, 2008 at Arena
Monterrey in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, Ana
Maria Torres (115 lbs)
of Mexico City won a 10-round unanimous decision over Esmeralda Moreno
(114½ lbs) for
the Interim WBC Junior Bantamweight title. The
judges' scores
were 99-91, 98-92, 99-91. Moreno fell to 9-4 (3 KO's).
Torres improved her record to 16-3-2 (10 KO's) with the win.
On November 29, 2008 at
Arena México
in México City, Mariana Juarez
(110¼ lbs) of México City won a 10-round (100-90,98-93,
99-91)
unanimous decision over Esmeralda Moreno (111 lbs) to
retain her WBC International Flyweight title. WBAN reported
that "Esmeralda applied pressure throughout, but as round
succeeded round, Mariana’s greater experience and superior technique
became increasingly apparent. Through the precision of her jab and the
more powerful shots from her right hand, she kept a rein on her valiant
challenger, although the latter managed nonetheless to land a number of
hard blows to the champion’s face. In
the first four rounds, Moreno had some good moments, but from the fifth
onwards, Mariana reacted and punished her with hard punches of her own
to the face. Esmeralda tried to get back into the fight in the sixth,
but she proved incapable of deciphering the movements of the champion.
By the seventh, the loser was displaying tiredness and Mariana took
advantage. She won the eighth, penetrating Moreno’s guard with missiles
to the head. In the ninth, Esmeralda was nearing exhaustion and Juárez
piled in on her, looking for the defining blow. The champion finished
strongly in the final round to seal her eighteenth victory." Juarez
improved to 18-5-3 (9 KO's) with this win.
On June 27, 2009 at the
outdoor Arena
Texcoco Lecheria in Texcoco de Mora, México, Esmeralda (108 lbs) won a
hard-fought ten-round unanimous (99-94,99-95,99-96) decision over Anahi
"Pantarita" Torres (107
lbs) of Tlalnepantla, México for the interim Mexican Junior Flyweight
title. Seven thousand fans saw the electrifying showdown
between
two boxers who both had plenty of local support, Moreno
drawing
hers from nearby Ciudad Neza while Torres was
supported by family and friends only a few minutes away.
Torres fell to 3-4 (0 KO's).with the
loss.
On August 23, 2009 at Salon
21 in México City, Esmeralda won by a TKO over Susana Morales Barrios
of México City at 0:56 in the first round of a scheduled
ten-rounder defending the interim Mexican Junior Flyweight title.
On October 24, 2009 at Palacio
del Arte in Morelia, Michoacán de Ocampo, México, Esmeralda (105 lbs)
won a ten-round unanimous decision over Mayela Perez (102½ lbs) of
Saltillo, México for the vacant WBC Youth Minimumweight title.
Perez fell to 8-12-2 with the loss.
On
February 13, 2010 in front of her home fans at Domo
Deportivo Metropolitano in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, México, Esmeralda
(108 lbs) knocked out Carolina Montenegro (108 lbs) of Panama in the
fourth round
of a scheduled ten-rounder for the vacant WBC Junior Flyweight title.
Montenegro (at right in weighin photo) fell to 4-3-2 (0 KO's)
with the loss.
On March 12, 2010 at Palasport
in Bertinoro, Emilia Romagna, Italy, undefeated Simona Galassi (111¼
lbs) of Italy won a ten-round unanimous (100-89,100-90,99-90) decision
over Esmeralda (111¼ lbs) defending the WBC Flyweight title.
Both
boxers worked from range in the early going, with southpaw Galassi's
lead rights landing with better accuracy than Moreno's jab. Moreno
pressed the action harder in the later rounds but Galassi's quick hands
and superior technique kept her out of any serious trouble for the
decision. Moreno was cut over her left eye in the fifth
round and
Galassi over her right eye in the sixth but both corners were able to
contain the damage effectively. Most rounds were closer than the
scorecards might suggest, but Galassi's more precise counterpunching
had frustrated most of Moreno's attempts to close the distance
behind her own jab. Galassi moved her record to 13-0-1 (3 KO's) with the win.
On May 15, 2010 at Deportivo
Benito Juárez in San Vicente Chicoloapan, México, Esmeralda (108 lbs)
TKO'd Abigail Villar of 24 de diciembre, Panama in the sixth round of a
scheduled ten-rounder for the WBC Youth Junior Flyweight title.
Villar fell to 3-5-2 (1 KO).
On July 3, 2010
at the Gran Forúm in México City, Esmeralda (108 lbs) TKO'd Yesenia "La
Pequena" Martinez Castrejon (108 lbs) of Palenque, Chiapas, México at
1:09 in the ninth round of a scheduled ten-rounder for the WBC Youth Junior
Flyweight title. Moreno had controlled most of the rounds with her jab, movement
and quick combinations while the shorter Martinez was more effective when
they mixed it up at close quarters. The referee halted the bout after Martinez
took a flurry of punches to the head without answering back. Martinez fell to
6-6 (5 KO's) with the loss.
On August 7, 2010 at the Arena
México in México City, Esmeralda (108 lbs) TKO'd Maricela Quintero
(105¾
lbs) of Culiacan, México at 1:02 in the final round of a ten-rounder
for the WBC Youth Junior Flyweight title. Quintero fell to 5-2 (0 KO's) with the
loss.
On
December 11, 2010 at Deportivo
Trabajadores del Metro in Iztacalco, México, Esmeralda (108 lbs) won a
ten-round split decision over Linda Sanchez (108 lbs)of Boca
del Rio, Veracruz, México for the WBC Youth Junior Flyweight title.
Linda Sanchez fell to 10-4-0 (5 KO's) with the loss.
On February 19, 2011 at
Deportivo Trabajadores del Metro in Iztacalco, Esmeralda (106½ lbs) won
a ten-round unanimous (98-92x3) decision over Jessica "Kika"
Chavez (106½
lbs) of México City for the interim Mexican Junior Flywieight and
vacant WBC Silver Junior Flyweight titles. Chavez fell to
10-3-2
(2 KO's) with the loss.
On April
23, 2011 at the Coliseum
Don King in Texcoco, México, Esmeralda won a ten-round unanimous
(98-91,97-92,97-92) decision over Maribel Ramirez of México City
defending the WBC Silver Junior Flyweight title. Ramirez fell to 4-3-1
(2 KO's).
On July 2, 2011 at Plaza De
Toros El Paseo in San Luis Potosi, México, Esmeralda (105¾
lbs) won a ten-round unanimous decision over US-born Maria "Mary"
Salinas (107 lbs) of Coahuila de Zaragoza, México defending the WBC
Silver Junior Flyweight title. Salinas, who is from McAllen,
Texas, fell to 8-1-1
(4 KO's) with her first pro loss.
On
August 27, 2011 at Plaza de Toros in Huamantla, Tlaxcala, México,
Esmeralda (106½ lbs) TKO'd Linda Sanchez (107¾ lbs) of Boca
del Rio, Veracruz, México at 2:59 in the seventh round of a scheduled
ten-rounder for the WBC Silver Junior Flyweight title. Sanchez was hurt
by a left hook to the liver as the bell sounded to end the seventh, and
was helped to her corner by the referee. Sanchez was ruled
unable
to continue during the round break, resulting in the TKO;
she fell
to 11-6 (6 KO's) with her second loss to Moreno.
On January 7, 2012 at the
Arena
Adolfo López Mateos in Tlalnepantla, México, Esmeralda Moreno
(108 lbs) won a ten-round unanimous decision over Yesenia
Martinez Castrejon (107 lbs) of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico for
the WBC Silver Junior Flyweight title. Castrejon fell to 10-9
(8 KO's) with the loss.
On May 1, 2012 at Expo
Feria, Morelia, Michoacán de Ocampo, Mexico,
Esmeralda Moreno successfully defended her WBC Silver Junior
Flyweight title with a ten-round unanimous (98-91,97-93,97-94) decision
over the overmatched Guadalupe Bautista who fell to 3-4-1.
On June 23, 2012 at Gimnasio
Miguel Hidalgo
in Puebla, Mexico, Esmeralda Moreno (107 lbs) won a 10-round unanimous
(98-92,99-94,97-93) decision over Naomi Togashi (107½ lbs) of Tokyo
Japan for the WBC Junior Flyweight world title. Moreno took charge
after she rocked Togashi with an uppercut in the fourth and caught
her Japanese opponent with hard combinations at the end of the sixth.
Togashi said after the fight that new world champion was "a
great fighter, very technical". Togashi suffered her first pro loss
as she fell to 10-1-1 (5 KO's).
On November 3, 2012 at Unidad
Deportiva El Chamizal, Zamora, Michoacán de Ocampo, Mexico, Esmeralda
Moreno won a clear ten-round unanimous (99-91,98-92,96-94)
decision over an elusive Maricela Quintero of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
defending the WBC Junior Flyweight title.
Moreno used precise combination punching to control the action
and improve her record to 25-6 (9 KO's) while Quintero fell to
11-3-1 (0 KO's).
Esmeralda says that she now "lives
the sport", but she is also studying Criminal Sciences
at UNAM.
Page
last updated: Sunday, November 4, 2012
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