5'3" Yadira Bustillos born on May
11, 2000, in Las Vegas, Nevada, is of Mexican decent. Her father
was born and raised in Durango, Mexico. Yadira's mother was born
in Torrance, California but raised in Durango, Mexico.
[Top Photo credit: Mary Ann Owen].
Yadira said, "I graduated from West Preparatory Academy on May
28, 2019, graduating with an advanced diploma with a 3.0 GPA. My
plan is to continue my education at a further date and would
like to attend UNLV."
Yadira told WBAN that she was introduced to boxing when
her
uncle and brother who were both boxing at the time and took her
to an amateur boxing event.
Yadira said, "there I was introduced to my uncle
and brothers coach Gil Martinez. I was intrigued by the way the
boxers were getting their hands wrapped during the event. I
approached coach Gil and asked if he trained girls and he said
that that he trained who ever wants to train."
"I went back to my seat and told
my mom I wanted to box which she totally ignored me. Soon after
my brother would come home and would have me spar with him and
my cousin and I would get dropped with body shots, I had never
experienced that type of pain. They would say they would take it
easy on me because I was smaller and didn’t know anything but
they didn’t. I told them not to go easy on me. After getting
dropped over and over it made me want to learn more and so
that it would never happen to me again. So from there, I asked my uncle if
he would take me to the gym without my parents knowledge because
I don’t think they wouldn’t approve of it," added Yadira.
Yadira said that her brother was
shocked and surprised when she showed up to the gym. He asked if
her
parents knew she was there...and she said not yet and he responded
to her that
better let them know.
Yadira said she told him, "I’m just here to watch
but deep down inside I wanted to start training. A few days
later, I went back ready to train. I asked my uncle if he would
wrap my hands because I didn’t know how and his response was not
my problem. I attempted to put my hand-wraps on but I had no
idea what I was doing. Finally the coach called me over and as
he started to teach me my stance and my defense he noticed that
my hands were not wrapped properly. He took me to the side and
rewrapped my hands and my training began."
Yadira said that she fell in love with
every aspect of the sport and the training and drills were some of
the most difficult exercises that she had ever done. She thought
she
was in decent shape because she did CrossFit at school but that there
was no comparison.
After about two and half months into training, she
had her first sparring session. Yadira said that there was no other girls
her size
so she had to spar with boys and even though they tried to take it
easy they hit hard and that pushed her to train even harder.
"I
wanted to prove to myself that I could do everything the guys
could do. I kept training for about two more months and I had my
first amateur fight. I was very nervous and I did not know how to
control my adrenaline. I felt exhausted after the first round
and I lost a very close decision to a girl that had five amateur
fights. I was very disappointed although....everybody kept telling
me that they thought I won the fight. I told myself that I never
wanted to feel that feeling again and went right back to the gym
and pushed myself even harder," said Yadira.
Yadira went on to have 24 amateur fights with a 22-2 record.
"Some of my proudest moments as an amateur was when I won the Roy Jones
Jr. National Invitational twice back to back, Nevada state
golden gloves champion, California state champion, the green
belt challenge champion , and placed 3rd in the 2019 Olympic
qualifiers. I was ranked number 6 in the nation with only the 22
fights".
Like many of the top amateur boxers, Yadira's goal was to make
the Olympic team and win gold, but due to Covid, her plans came
to a halt.
She told WBAN that after being
shut down for almost two years, she decided not to wait another
four
years and she began her professional career. She made her pro debut
on a Roy Jones Jr. promotion card on April 1, 2021 in Los Mochis
Sonora, Mexico.
On May 13, 2023, in Stadthalle,
in Offenbach, Germany, Minimumweight Sarah "Babyface" Bormann
won a ten-round unanimous decision over Bustillos. Bormann
inproved her record to 16-0-0 (7KO), and Bustillos experienced
her first loss and is now 7-1-0 (0KO). The two were fighting for
the WBC Interim World Minimum title.
On September 23, 2023, at the
Thunder Studios, in Long Beach, California, Bustillos, 102
3/4, of Las Vegas won an eight-round unanimous decision over
Katherine Renee Lindenmuth, 104.5.
On November 11, 2023, at the
Thunder Studios, in Long Beach, California, Bustillos, 104
1/2, of Las Vegas, Nevada, won by a fourth round KO [1:44
seconds] over Maria Santizo, 104 1/2. Bustillos is presently 9-1-0
(1KO) as of
April 10, 2024.
Yadira's ultimate goal is to become the undisputed world champion
in all three weight classes that she has fought in. She
currently trains in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo credits: Team Bustillo
#
# #
#
More Information on WBAN, go to our affilated websites!
www.womensboxing.org
www.womenboxingrecords.com
www.wban2012.com
www.wbanmember.com
www.floridaboxing.com
www.iwbhf.com
www.wban.tv
WBAN's
Group Facebook
