It was one of the busiest weekends in women’s boxing in quite a while. And the results, although they all went as expected, were spectacular in most cases.

In a superb display of talent and grit, several of the world’s top female prizefighters gave a handful of memorable performances that earned them a great deal of praise from the mainstream boxing fans and media – and to go with it, a bump in The Ring’s Women’s Ratings as well.

Canada’s Marie Eve Dicaire was not one of those who were promoted to higher positions, but not due to her own fault. Our No. 1 junior middleweight (right below our champion Claressa Shields) defeated our current (and still) No. 5 Cynthia Lozano in dominant fashion and therefore has nowhere to go from her lofty position.

A few divisions below, a different situation took place.

After administering a severe beating to Spain’s Miriam Gutierrez (rated No. 3) in a lightweight bout, Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano declared her intention to go after Ring champion Katie Taylor in the 135-pound division, and was subsequently evaluated by the panel to come into the lightweight top 5, given that Serrano (No. 3 pound-for-pound) was already rated No. 1 at featherweight, where she fought her last few bouts.

Serrano’s extraordinary skills were taken into account, as well as her limited body of work at 135. In the end, an almost unanimous vote by the panel decided to place Serrano at No. 2 at lightweight right behind Delfine Persoon (No. 5 pound-for-pound), a fighter with a much more established resume in the division.

“I like Serrano at No.2 behind Persoon,” said panelist Michael Montero. “I think that makes sense. After all, her fight with Gutierrez was Amanda’s first legit lightweight bout since 2014.”

His view was shared by many others as well.

“In my opinion, she stepped up her fight game in 2021, and 2022 should be an even better year with Katie Taylor on the horizon,” said Lupi Gutierrez-Beagle of Beautiful Brawlers, while boxing historian Malissa Smith argued that “given that Serrano will likely fight Katie Taylor for the lightweight title sometime in the spring, (if terms can be reached), it makes sense to rank Serrano there as well”.

After two tough but very wide losses, Gutierrez was demoted to No. 5, and Jennifer Han was bumped out to make room for Serrano.

Seniesa Estrada (left) vs. Marlen Esparza. Photo by Tom Hogan

A few divisions below, another fighter who had a streak of bad luck and lackluster wins final had a chance to shine, and she made the most of it. The panel acknowledged by placing her at the top of her division, one of the most competitive in women’s boxing.

“(Marlen) Esparza shone in front of Ortiz,” said Argentina’s Yesica Palmetta, referring to the Texan’s defense of her WBC belt against former titlist Anabel Ortiz. “She learned to put her speed to good use.”

Rincon Rojo editor Irene Deserti agreed by saying that “Esparza was more convincing in this performance than in the previous one,” while Smith added that “I was very impressed with Esparza’s performance. She has matured greatly and has finally dropped her amateur style.  She was patient, showed excellent movement, ring generalship and excellent setups, feints, and punch selection. She also handled Anabel Ortiz’s late round aggression well, certainly better than I’ve seen, and showed a really strong, crisp jab, right hand, and body work.”

Mark Jones went further by saying that “(Esparza) is putting it all together now, and I’d favor her over Naoko Fujioka if they should meet in a flyweight unification bout.”

On that note, Esparza was promoted to No. 1 at flyweight, above Japan’s legendary multiple titlist Fujioka.

Esparza’s archrival, however, got a more significant bump in the most important top 10 in women’s boxing.

“Seniesa Estrada deserves to be higher in P4P, but it is packed… so No. 8 is good for now,” said Japan’s Yuriko Miyata, assessing Estrada’s demolishing win over Maria Micheo Santizo in a strawweight title bout.

Estrada is one of the very few fighters rated No. 1 in two different divisions by The Ring, so she has nowhere to go unless she can lure any of her No. 2s to a Ring title fight. But her win (and the highlight-reel stoppage it left behind) was good enough to help her move an inch closer towards the top of the pound-for-pound ranking, where she became the new No. 8 in detriment of long-time former No. 1 and women’s boxing flagbearer Cecilia Braekhus, currently with no fights in her horizon and supposedly on her way to retirement.

“Seniesa is a boxer of an unusual technique, and to this she adds a lot of power too”, said Palmetta, while Deserti added that “Estrada has been devastating against every opponent they put in front of her. I knew Micheo from several previous performances and I think she was a good rival. Estrada will soon occupy a place in the top five of P4P without a doubt.”

The laudatory remarks didn’t stop there.

“Seniesa is another fighter that gets better with every fight,” said Gutierrez-Beagle, while Jones added that “What impresses me the most about Seniesa Estrada is that she’s constantly forcing her opponent to fight off the ropes and in the corners, which is a trait she’ll need to employ in a future super fight with Yesica Bopp, who has excellent ring coverage. Estrada is a great fighter, and a future No. 1 pound-for-pound place is certain.”

Amanda Serrano – Photo by Amanda Westcott/ Showtime