On 23rd October, in a shocking update, women’s undisputed minimumweight champion, Seniesa Estrada announced her retirement from boxing at the age of 32. She was at the top of the boxing world for 13 years and did not lose a single fight in her prestigious career. ‘Super Bad’ clinched the undisputed title in her last bout against Yokasta Valle in March. Since then, she hadn’t had a single fight.

While Top Rank and Estrada herself had been vocal about the mental strain boxing had had on her personal life, the announcement still left fans and other boxers concerned. Many wanted to know the reason behind the 26-0 boxer’s decision. Finally, a week after the announcement, Estrada broke her silence as she sat down with Top Rank Boxing and revealed the reason behind her unexpected move.

Not a recent decision: Seniesa Estrada on her retirement

Super Bad sat down with reporter Crystina Poncher and talked about the mental struggles that led to her retirement. The first thing that Estrada stated was that she would have not talked about this “with anyone else other than you or Top Rank exclusively because it’s difficult.”

The Los Angeles native shares a good personal relationship with Poncher as the latter has covered many of Estrada’s matches and significant moments on ESPN and Top Rank broadcasts. Both of them hold a massive respect for each other. Maybe that is why the retired boxer found it easy to open up about her struggles to Poncher.

Estrada further added that her retirement was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, rather, it was quite difficult. “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 past few years,” stated Estrada.

Estrada was not able to control her emotions. “It was very draining mentally,” she stated as tears began to well up in her eyes. The 32-year further talked about how in her last few bouts it was getting harder and harder for her to keep up. The wear and tear on her body was too much to handle, which eventually led her to make this decision. She stated, “I never talked about this. I would say my last three to four fights, after my fights I would, before getting back to the training camp for next fight,” before tearing up up again. At which point, the interview cut away.

While Crystina Poncher only posted a clip of her interview with Seniesa Estrada, we will be able to catch the whole interview very soon. We will get more context behind the Los Angeles native’s shocking choice to retire. After the announcement, many from the boxing community supported and even celebrated her decision. One of whom was Heather Hardy, who, since her own retirement, has taken it upon herself to make everyone aware of the dangers inherent in professional boxing.

The spokesperson for mental health

Earlier this year, Hardy was also forced to retire from boxing after suffering a life-threatening brain injury. According to ‘The Heat’, she was lucky to be alive and the boxing world left her stranded. After hearing that Estrada made the decision to prioritize her mental and physical health over the sport, Hardy was joyous. She commented, “Oh she did it right 👏👏🏼,” appreciating the timely decision by the former two-weight world champion.

Now that Estrada has hung up her gloves, we might also see her being vocal about the dangers of the sport. Furthermore, the 32-year-old also talked about a new beginning and a new adventure in her life, which allowed her to leave the sport in peace. Earlier this year, Estrada got married to boxing and NBA journalist Chris Mannix in an intimate private ceremony. However, what her new role will entail only remains to be seen.

What do you think about Seniesa Estrada’s decision? Do you think it was a timely decision, or she had a few more years at the top? Let us know your thoughts down below.