Yokasta Valle and Marlen Esparza meet Saturday in a crossroads bout at Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Mexico, with the winner expected to earn a foothold contending for a title in their division.

The bout marks the women's flyweight debut of Valle and also a newfound focus on the division from Golden Boy Promotions. The youngest undisputed flyweight champion, Gabriela Fundora, headlines an upcoming show for the promotion on April 19 at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California, so the winner might not be far away from a fight with Fundora.

Valle, 32-3 (10 KOs), has previously held titles at strawweight and junior flyweight. Esparza, 15-2 (1 KO), a 2012 US Olympian, previously held titles at flyweight before a loss to Gabriela Alaniz in April. Valle, a 32-year-old from San Juan, Costa Rica, has won two fights since her loss to Seniesa Estrada last year.

“This is an opportunity for women to shine, the best to face the best,” Valle said, “and obviously Marlen has done everything under the sun from the Olympics to reigning in the flyweight division.”

Esparza, a 35-year-old from Houston, defeated Arely Mucino in December. It was her first fight since losing her title. Esparza, who has fought exclusively at flyweight, was asked whether Valle moving up in weight would be a factor.

“I really don’t think the whole weight thing is going to be an issue at all,” Esparza said.

Since Valle’s loss to Estrada, she has begun to train with Jay “Panda” Najar, who also trains William Zepeda, a main-event fighter on the card. Saturday will mark Valle’s third fight with her new team, which is based out of Mexico.

“This is my first time fighting in Mexico and I am really excited about this,” Valle said via a translator.

Oscar De La Hoya, the chairman and CEO of Golden Boy, outlined the fight as being consequential to the future of the division.

“The winner will move on to bigger and better things,” De La Hoya said at the pre-fight press conference. “They keep on climbing the ladder. There is no limit to what they can do.”

Esparza took time to praise De La Hoya – the promoter who signed her and with whom she has spent her entire professional career – as a crucial advocate for women’s boxing.

“Oscar really put women’s boxing on the map, especially for our weight division,” Esparza said. “We are more active and we have a lot more of a skill set than the higher weight classes, because of the movement and our size. If it wasn’t for Oscar signing and really building this weight class, we wouldn’t have the women we have 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.