NEW YORK – After a breakneck schedule spent collecting titles and sharpening her broadcast skills, Seniesa ‘Superbad’ Estrada was content with spending the week as a fan of the sport.

Bearing witness to a runaway favorite for Fight of the Year on a night that celebrated everything that’s right for women in boxing, however, only intensified her hunger to resume her own stellar career.

Estrada was among a who’s who of the best female boxers of past and present watching in awe as Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano delivered a pound-for-pound showdown for the ages in their April 30 superfight. A sellout crowd of 19,187 was on hand for the first-ever female main event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where Ireland’s Taylor (21-0, 6KOs) edged Brooklyn’s Serrano (42-2-1, 30KOs) by split decision to retain her undisputed lightweight championship.

Estrada (22-0, 9KOs) is on the short list of female fighters who join Taylor and Serrano in the pound-for-pound discussion. The 29-year-old rising superstar from East Los Angeles is also enough of an attraction in her home market to where it’s easy to envision a headlining act in her future.

Or so you’d think.

“Headlining my own show would be nice. For now, I’ll just settle for getting back in the ring,” Estrada told BoxingScene.com. “I had a big year last year, I fought three times and beat two champions back-to-back. I’d like to do that again this year. Of course, it’s slowed me down with the whole Golden Boy situation.

“Hopefully, we’ll be back in July. If we can’t figure it out with Golden Boy… we’re (in) May and I still don’t have a fight. So, July and hopefully still fighting three times like I did last year.”

The “situation” is Estrada and now-estranged promoter Golden Boy Promotions at a standstill over the direction of her career, with her frustrations shared through recent Instagram stories available to her more than 145,000 followers on the social media platform. Estrada has not fought since her  Knockout of the Year contender in her fourth-round stoppage of unbeaten Marie Santizo last December in San Antonio, which followed back-to-back title wins at strawweight and junior flyweight over long-reigning champs. 

There were talks of Estrada defending her WBA strawweight title on the March 19 DAZN show that was to have been headlined by Vergil Ortiz Jr. in L.A. Those plans were pushed back to a rumored appearance on the April 9 DAZN card in San Antonio, topped by Ryan Garcia’s ring return after a 15-month absence. Estrada’s role for both shows was limited to expert analyst as part of the DAZN broadcast, drawing accolades for her skills behind the mic. 

“It’s nice to be able to expand my horizons,” admits Estrada, though with a disclaimer. “But I’d much rather be in the ring. Fighting always comes first.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox