Marlen Esparza: USA Women's Boxer Deserves More Attention

You can have Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, LeBron James, Gabby Douglas and other American Olympic stars. I'll take Marlen Esparza.

If you don't know about Esparza, there's a good chance you'll soon figure it out. 

The 23-year-old Mexican-American took out Karlha Magliocco in the quarterfinals of the women's 51kg boxing competition on Monday, putting her through to the semifinals.

But this wasn't just another notch on Esparza's belt. It was much bigger than that. 

With this being the first Olympic Games to showcase women's boxing, Esparza is now the first American woman to ever win an Olympic boxing match, and now that she's in the semifinals, she is guaranteed at least a bronze medal. 

She's the definition of a trailblazer. The pioneer of women's boxing.

Nonetheless, she won't get recognized as one. 

She won't be interviewed by Bob Costas. She won't find herself on the front of a Wheaties box. She won't even have her huge semifinal fight with World Champion Ren Cancan of China tape-delayed and shown on NBC during primetime like all the other big stars. 

It's understandable that Esparza isn't on the level of a Franklin or a Douglas in terms of popularity. Women's boxing is clearly less of a must-see event than swimming or gymnastics in the Olympics, but Esparza at least deserves some recognition for her efforts.

She deserves to be talked about as one of the best American stories from London.

Being the first to accomplish something—especially if that something is bringing home the first-ever medal for your country in a certain sport—deserves a great deal of credit.

Marlen Esparza may not get what she deserves in terms of notoriety, but something that tells me an Olympic medal will probably help soothe those pains. 

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