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Kim Clavel views her upcoming title unification bout as the first step towards becoming undisputed junior flyweight champion.
It’s hardly the end game for the undefeated Montreal native, who believes that status will lead to her ultimate jackpot fight.
“The biggest fight out there for me is Seniesa Estrada,” Clavel told BoxingScene.com. “There is Yokasta Valle out there as well but I think the big blockbuster fight for me is when Seniesa and I eventually fight.
“Maybe this year or next, whenever we fight I believe it will be a million-dollar fight for both of us.”
For now, Clavel (16-0, 3KOs) is fully focused on collecting her second title. The reigning WBC junior flyweight titlist will next face Mexico’s Jessica Nery Plata, who puts her WBA belt on the line in their January 13 unification clash at Place Bell in Laval, Canada. The fight was delayed by six weeks after Clavel came down with a high fever during fight week ahead of their eventually canceled December 1 clash.
Clavel claimed the WBC title in brilliant fashion, when she soundly outboxed long-reigning titlist Yesenia Gomez on July 29 in her Montreal hometown. Part of her victory tour included a trip to England, where she hoped to be in attendance for the originally scheduled September 10 all-women’s card topped by the Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall and Alycia Baumgardner-Mikaela Mayer championship unification bouts at The O2 in London.
During her time in the U.K., Clavel managed to run into Estrada (23-0, 9KOs), the brilliant two-division champion and reigning WBA strawweight titlist. Their time together was cordial but with a firm reminder of a superfight that lies in their future as they continue to win big fights and collect belts.
As previously reported by BoxingScene.com, Estrada will next face Germany’s Tina Rupprecht in a March 25 WBA/WBC strawweight unification bout in Fresno, California. The winner will likely look to IBF/WBO champ Yokasta Valle for the division’s undisputed crown.
Costa Rica’s Valle was briefly on Clavel’s radar after she edged Evelin Bermudez to win the WBA/IBF junior flyweight titles last November 26 in Carson, California. Valle has since vacated the belts to return to her strawweight title reign, leaving Clavel to map out a different path to collect all the junior flyweight hardware.
The long-term goal remains the same, however—lining up Estrada for a blockbuster fight.
“I was in England when Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall were supposed to fight in September,” Clavel recalled. “It was [postponed] because the queen died but I still had the chance to meet Seniesa during the week.
“We had a good conversation. I told her to keep shining and I will keep shining as well. We need each other to deliver to the fans a big blockbuster fight.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
