Yokasta Valle will return home for her next title fight.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the three-division titlist will risk her WBC strawweight belt against Peru's Rocio Gaspar. Their scheduled ten-round contest will headline a July 18 show from Camara de Ganaderos Liberia in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
The bout will mark the free agent period for Valle, 33-3 (10 KOs), who was previously with Golden Boy Promotions through her March 29 win over Marlen Esparza at flyweight.
Valle, 32, fought at this very venue in her previous home country, in a second-round knockout of Ramandeep Kaur last November 1. The bout was contested under three-minute rounds but the fighting pride of San Jose, Costa Rica barely needed four minutes to close the show and claim the vacant WBC 105lbs title.
The win launched Valle's second tour as a strawweight titlist. She previously held the IBF and WBO belts at the weight, which she lost to Seniesa Estrada in their spectacular undisputed clash last March 29 in Glendale, Arizona.
Estrada then announced her retirement last summer, which led the 105lbs division wide open. Valle reclaimed a belt, which she's yet to defend. Her previous outing this year came at flyweight, where she outpointed Esparza, a former lineal and unified 112lbs champ, in Cancun, Mexico.
Despite the success against Esparza - who badly blew weight - Valle made a vow to return to strawweight, where she aspires to become undisputed champ.
Gaspar, 12-2 (3 KOs) returns after a 31-month ring absence as she fights for the second straight time out of Peru.
Her previous road trip also came with this very title at stake. Gaspar dropped a ten-round, unanimous decision to then-unbeaten Tina Rupprecht in their December 2022 WBC title fight in Heilbronn, Germany.
Valle's first defense will come under her Yoka Sport & Boxing Promotions company, which she heads up along with manager Mario Vega. They are the leading promotional outfit in Costa Rica; this card will be their fourth venture this year, including a June 21 show in Cartago.
Valle has also held titles at atomweight and junior flyweight. She is 13-2 in major title fights across three weight divisions, including 11-1 at strawweight.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .
