Seniesa Estrada is ready for the world

Every fighter wants to have direction in their career,that applies to fight schedules and training. For Seniesa Estrada she now has that and Thursday night at the OC Hangar in Costa Mesa she will take the next step in her professional career when she takes on Maria Andaverde. The fight is part of Roy Englebrecht’s OC Fight Club and Estrada looks to remain undefeated in her fifth fight.

c/o Robert Huskey- Seniesa Estrada training for her fight at OC Fight Night on Thursday, August, 27, 2015

The East Los Angeles native once had inactivity but never stopped believing that her time would come. Time in-between fights was spent training and sparring with any female fighters she could find, this included mixed martial arts fighters in Southern California.

Last May a chance to be on the Gennady Golovkin card materialized and she jumped at the opportunity to fight again no matter what the circumstances were.

“I was off for a year and it was a big stage. To be on the Golovkin undercard we had to fight a girl who was a bantamweight so the fight was at 116 lbs and was out of my weight class but opportunity came and I took it. I gained so much exposure from that one fight and it opened up doors,” said Estrada.

While her training went well and the weight wasn’t an issue, the week of the fight she had to deal with a nasal congestion that had an effect on her breathing during the fight. Fighting with this condition forced her to breathe through her mouth. This can be dangerous if the fighter catches a counter punch to the jaw. It also causes a fighter to get winded sooner than they would like.

“It looked like I would slow down at the beginning of the rounds because I had a bad congestion problem that made it hard for me to breathe through my nose. It made it difficult for me because I wanted to be aggressive from round one through six because I know she was bigger than me. After I knocked her down, it was hard for me to finish her because it was difficult to breathe,” said Estrada.

Part of her success that night was a knockdown she scored on her opponent Carly Batey. The quick combination was a surprise to those in attendance inside The Forum but not to Estrada.

“I wasn’t shocked by the knockdown. It’s something we practiced and part of the game plan. It was my first six round fight which is better for me. The rounds are two minutes and not three like men’s so I need the extra time. I wish I would had eight rounds so I could have finished her but it was still good,” said Estrada.

c/o Robert Huskey – Seniesa Estrada training for her fight at OC Fight Night on Thursday,  August, 27, 2015

Random do fighters admit to the nerves they face before a fight but Estrada is open in expressing that she gets nervous on fight night and starts blocking others out that day. Her routine includes resting or walking around her locker room before a fight while listening to music but isn’t much for talking at that point.

“I get nervous all the way till the sound of the first bell. Once I hear that sound a switch comes on and it’s more about what I have to do to win and I go to work,” said Estrada.

Things are different this fight camp. The warm summer weather has made it easy for her to avoid congestion and she’s been training without issue. This is something that fans in attendance can expect will give them a more exciting fight and perhaps a knockout finish from Estrada.

Fans can still buy tickets to this event by following her on twitter @SeniesaEstrada and on InstaGram @seniesa_estrada . Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the first fight of the card starts at 5:30 p.m.

JC Casarez is a journalism major at CSULB and content editor who covers boxing and mixed martial arts. You can follow him on twitter and Instagram @Wildcardking.

Robert Huskey is a photographer and editor for the Anaheim Angels. You can follow him on twitter and Instagram @RobertHuskey .