SAN DIEGO – Gabriela Fundora christens a new arena with its first boxing show Saturday night, becoming the first Golden Boy Promotions’ female fighter to ever headline a card while standing as the promotion’s first undisputed champion.

“I love history. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Fundora 15-0 (7 KOs) said as she moves to the main event versus IBF and WBA No. 1-rated Marilyn Badillo, 19-0-1 (3 KOs), of Mexico.

Fundora, set to collect the Boxing Writers Association of America’s women’s Fighter of the Year award later this month in New York, is looking to enhance her historic ride accompanied by brother Sebastian Fundora, the unified junior-middleweight champion who successfully defended his WBC and WBO belts last month by stopping Chordale Booker in Las Vegas.

Gabriela, too, craves the knockout, claiming three finishes in her past four bouts as she won her first belt in 2023 and then collected the rest in November by stopping Gabriele Celeste Alaniz in the seventh round.

“I recognized quickly this is what I need to do to get the attention, because, obviously, boxing is a male-dominated sport,” Fundora, 23, said. “Regardless, people like knockouts. I’m going to watch a fight if I know there’s a good chance there’ll be a knockout. You see the response when you get one and when you don’t. So if you can do it, do it.”

Whether it happens in a methodical or sudden fashion doesn’t matter, but Fundora maintains her pursuit of a finish despite the restriction of two-minute rounds, considering she has just two less finishes than Claressa Shields and Katie Taylor combined.

“Every match is different. Every round, I’m looking for a knockout. If not the first, then the second, then the third,” Fundora said. “Some get knocked out cold by a simple punch. Just work toward it.

“I get the knockouts, and not a lot of female fighters do that. It separates [me] from the rest and, hopefully, Saturday you’ll get another one.

“I plan, in all my fights, to get the knockout. I know [Badillo’s] No. 1 in the WBA and IBF, so obviously, she’s been working her way up the rankings, but I’m champion and champion for a reason, and Saturday, she’s going to find out.”

The success has been fostered by being trained by her father, Freddy, and working beside Sebastian, who is negotiating a WBO mandatory defense against Puerto Rico’s Xander Zayas.

“It’s a family thing, boxing, and it’s a great support system – family just motivating each other,” she said.

Trained in the hills above the Coachella Valley in California, Gabriela said hill running and wood chopping are part of her preparation routine to complement the natural assets of her height, reach and toughness.

“The basics … I’ve got to stay warm. If you want to be warm for the winter, you’ve got a responsibility,” she said.

By opening the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California, to boxing on a card that includes unbeaten 154lbs contender Charles Conwell, Fundora says, “I expect California to show. It’s Cali’. It’s my home. It’s exciting.”

She said she yearns for the crowd to exit thinking, “That was a spectacular Fundora show, and we’re going to see another spectacular Fundora show soon.”

At this point, Fundora is basking in the notion of taking on all flyweight challengers rather than casting her eyes on the heavier champions, including popular Mizuki Hiruta of Japan (junior-bantamweight) and bantamweight champion Cherneka Johnson.

“I’ve got a question: Who has all the belts at 112?” Fundora asked and answered. “Oh, it’s me. I have all the belts. So I don’t really have a preference. There’s nothing that catches my eye. It’s more about the challenge itself that they all want to fight me. I’m excited to see what the future has.”