Seniesa Estrada has been knocking on the door of the elite fighters at 108 pounds. After impressive victories as of late, especially against a longtime rival, Estrada is ready to burst through that mythical door to face any world junior flyweight titleholder.

The unbeaten Estrada will face Miranda Atkins tonight at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. The 10-round bout will precede the main event bout between hard-hitting welterweight Vergil Ortiz, Jr. and Samuel Vargas.

Estrada (18-0, 7 knockouts), who resides in East Los Angeles, California, last fought on November 2, defeating longtime rival and former Olympic bronze medalist Marlen Esparza by unanimous decision. Estrada mostly dominated the action before an accidental clash of heads opened a cut above Esparza’s eye that prompted the fight to go to the scorecards in round nine.

The 28-year-old has displayed more aggression in recent fights, having stopped her previous five opponents. Estrada was hoping to notch a knockout of Esparza, but was content to batter he for eight-plus rounds.

“The victory meant a lot to me,” Estrada told BoxingScene over the phone in a recent interview. “It was a satisfying win to end 2019. There was a lot of talk between us for four years. I got in there and shut her up. She was blaming the head-butt for how the fight ended and it was just an excuse for her, not me hitting and beating her to the punch. She found an easy way out with that excuse. She can say all she wants. People saw what happened in that fight.”

Esparza is grateful to return to the ring, especially with the recent pandemic that has affected all facets of life, including boxing.

She will square off against a fighter in Adkins (5-0, 5 KOs), who is unbeaten but has fought no one near the caliber of opposition Estrada has faced. Esparza is using this fight as a stay-busy fight, but is not overlooking Adkins.

“Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was difficult to bring in a fighter from outside the United States,” said Estrada, who has fought most of her career under the Golden Boy Promotions banner. “We were able to find Adkins. I give her a lot of credit. It’s a validated reward.”

Estrada has boxed since she was a girl. Because of her size and there were few girls that boxed in her weight class, Estrada ended up sparring several sparring boys in preparation for amateur tournaments.

To the unknown eye, Estrada may have felt out of place, but she became known for outboxing or beating up most boys she faced as a girl and later as a teenager. Estrada believes that prepared her for the pro ranks.

“I sparred a lot of boys when I was eight and up until I was 14,” said Estrada. “Frankie Gomez and I had the same trainer and we would go around Los Angeles sparring. I would see Joseph (JoJo) Diaz around and sparred him a few times. All that sparring against boys and young men definitely made me a better fighter. It was very rare for me to spar another girl, but I didn’t mind having boys come at me with their best in the ring. It helped me a lot.”

An impressive victory over Adkins could lead to Estrada fighting for a world title belt. She believes she is more than ready and hopes that could take place later this year or in early 2021.

“The plans are for me to fight Anabel Ortiz for the WBA title at 105 pounds or WBC (junior flyweight) titleholder Yesenia Gomez. There’s been talk with her team about a fight. Everything was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We’re just hoping to fight for a world title belt soon. I’m ready.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing