Yesica Bopp Looks Rebound and Vent Out Her Frustrations on Unbeaten Johana Blanco Zúñiga
Longevity, consistency, and stick-to-itiveness define long-reigning WBA women’s world junior flyweight champ Yesica Bopp (36-2, 16 KOs). Those attributes have helped the 37-year-old from Buenos Aires, Argentina become one of the most accomplished female boxers over the past 15 years.
But 2021 has not been kind for the champion nicknamed “Tuti”. First was the cancellation of the Argentinian Olympics box-offs, which ruined her dream of competing in the recent Tokyo Olympics. Then things got worse.
Bopp returned to the professional ranks following a layoff of over two years. Things didn’t go as planned. On September 17, she was upset in a non-title bout against unheralded countrywoman Juliana Vanesa Basualdo. However, this is a world champ who has not come this far without knowing how to handle adversity. As a caveat, the loss to Basualdo took place at junior bantamweight, two weight classes above junior flyweight, where she’s competed for her entire career.
TAKING IT ON THE CHIN
On October 22, she puts her title on the line as she faces undefeated Venezuelan Johana Blanco Zúñiga (16-0, 9 KOs) in Barranquilla, Colombia. During an interview with ESPN Argentina, Bopp puts her recent disappointments in stride, explaining what went wrong in her most recent fight.
(translated from Spanish) “I took it more as a return to the ring, and secondly because I returned in a category that was not mine, giving weight advantages against a boxer with longer arms and in a six-round fight when I’m used to going to 10. We took everything into account. It could happen, but the priority was to make a previous fight before going for the title.”
Revealing that she fought suffering from the effects of plantar fasciitis, she views the fight as a teaching lesson about attempting to fight through injury. Bopp now claims to be healthy and wants to vent out her recent frustrations on Zúñiga.
“Physically, I am fine, now without pain, and fine-tuning everything to get to the weight well, in my category. Nothing can fail. All the desire, all the anger, the Venezuelan boxer will take as a gift.”
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
