A few days ago, women’s undisputed minimumweight champion, Seniesa Estrada, shocked the world when she announced her official retirement from the sport. She was just 32 years old and had just captured the undisputed title in her last bout against Yokasta Valle in March. Since then, she hadn’t had a single match.

That is why her decision to retire was quite a surprise, even though Estrada had previously talked about the mental strain boxing has had on her. The Los Angeles native posted a heartfelt message on her Instagram account, talking about how happy she is with the decision. Following the announcement, Seniesa Estrada sat down with reporter Crystina Poncher and opened up about the gritty and dark side of boxing that forced her to hang up her gloves.

The unbearable pain

On Thursday, Top Rank released another snippet of Estrada’s exclusive interview with Poncher. The much-awaited interview features the 26-0 boxer fighting back tears while confessing about how she came to the decision to retire from the sport, which had been the main part of her life since she was eight.

The 32-year-old confessed, “Boxing was breaking me down mentally. I talked to myself that ‘You gotta make a decision because this is killing you. It’s making you just not be yourself’.” She revealed how boxing was draining her mentally, something that she even mentioned in her retirement post as well.

Super Bad further stated that during her last few fights, she was in a lot of pain mentally. It was so bad that she had to take support of alcohol to subdue the pain. “As I said, the last 3 to 4 fights, after my fights, before going into training camp, I’d drink, like a bottle of wine to myself, like every night. Just so I could fall asleep, easier… and not think about being depressed or feeling anxiety,” admitted a teary-eyed Estrada.

According to the undisputed champion, the drinking helped her to forget about the pain and every other mental problem she was dealing with. She was drowning her problems in alcohol and it was making her anti-social. “I wasn’t going out or partying. I was doing it by myself. I didn’t wanna be around anybody, so I was doing it alone,” stated Estrada while breaking down in tears.

While the decision might seem hurried and unexpected, according to the Los Angeles native, it was not. In the same interview, Seniesa Estrada talked about how much she pondered about it before taking the final step.

Seniesa Estrada’s hardest decision ever

The 32-year-old stated, “It was a difficult decision. I didn’t just wake up one morning and say, ‘I feel like retiring.’ It’s something, there has been a lead-up for the past few years,” and it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Over the years, Estrada has been vocal about the mental and physical strain of boxing. While recovering from her hand surgery, she spoke about the emotional and psychological journey she had to take for the title. The undisputed minimumweight champion had also made her frustrations with the perceptions of women’s boxing evident.

While it was a hard decision for the 26-0 boxer, she is now at peace. In her retirement post, she spoke about a new beginning and a new adventure in her life, which allowed her to leave the sport in peace. It has been a sensational journey to the top and for all her hard work and achievement, she has achieved the right to go out on her own terms, which is what many of her peers in boxing felt too.

What do you think about Seniesa Estrada’s decision to retire? Do you think she should have stayed for a few more fights? Let us know your thoughts down below.