Nearly a year ago Brook Sibrian was on a career-worst two-fight losing streak. In the intervening 12 months, she was able to string together four straight wins, avenging one of her losses, and earned a secondary title.
On December 13 at Ace Mission Studios in Los Angeles, Sibrian won a majority decision over Gloria Munguilla in a 10-round junior flyweight bout to secure a vacant WBC international junior flyweight belt.
Sibrian, 9-2 (4 KOs), had a daunting task in 2025. She had to reestablish herself as a contender after a November 2024 upset loss in a perceived stay-busy fight against Tania Itzel Garcia Hernandez. In her next fight, this past January, Sibrian lost a unanimous decision to Munguilla. Considering the other variables – she came to boxing late, after college, and her amateur career took place after the pandemic – Sibiran had arrived at a crossroads.
“You always hear boxing is all mental,” Sibrian said. “It was not a two-month training camp but an 11-month process that built up my confidence for that rematch.”
Sibrian is trained and managed by her husband, Jose Soto. After her second loss, they knew a change was needed. Sibrian, a 32-year-old from Coachella, California, has no promoter. They had to hustle to get fights and put their heads together to figure out what changes needed to be made.
“It was a full-circle moment that made me realize why we were doing this,” Sibrian said. “We stayed true to each other.”
What they did was lean on some boxing minds they trusted. Enter Edgar Ponce of 818 Boxing, located in San Fernando, California, and Lee Espinoza, the godfather of Coachella Valley boxing. They served two different roles in Sibrian’s rebuild. Ponce trained Soto when he was a fighter, and the couple met at his gym. Sibrian began to spend time training with Ponce for different camps after the losses. Then, to break up the monotony of the everyday training grind in the Palm Springs desert, they relied upon Espinoza to provide, in their words, “positivity” in the gym.
“We didn’t dwell on the stuff that sucks,” Sibrian said. “We put all our energy into how we're going to make this better. How are we going to keep this thing moving forward?”
Last month’s win over Munguilla improved Sibrian’s WBC ranking to No. 11. Her ambitions are clear: Despite a late start in the sport, she isn’t content to just be a good comeback story. She wants a chance to challenge for a title.
“The win is a great achievement, but it is also a stepping stone,” Sibrian said. “I want to go for the world titles. That is my focus right now.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
