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In boxing rings across the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica, 22-year-old Nicaraguan-American boxer Guadalupe Yomira Medina has carried the pride of two countries in her fists: the United States, where she was born, and Nicaragua, where her family’s roots are. She was raised “the Nicaraguan way,” speaking Spanish and eating gallo pinto with fried plantains and cheese for breakfast.
In the boxing world, she is known as the “Baby Face Assassin,” a nickname she earned because people always think she is younger than she actually is.
Her father, Julio César Rugama, was an amateur boxer in Nicaragua before being forcibly drafted into the Patriotic Military Service during the 1980s. After moving to Los Angeles, he taught the sport to his eldest son, Amed Ali Medina, but resisted letting Guadalupe enter the gym.
He even offered to pay her “whatever she wanted” if she stayed away from boxing gloves. But little “Lupe” had other ideas. While her brother trained, she secretly practiced everything she observed inside her room. “Everything they taught my brother, I would go home and practice in secret,” Guadalupe says.
At the age of eight, she convinced her father with a promise she already knew she would not keep: “I just wanted to learn, not fight.” One month after stepping into a gym for the first time, she already had her boxing license.
“For me, the word no didn’t exist. It always had to be yes, one way or another,” she says about that stubbornness that, she jokes, is a very Nicaraguan trait she inherited from her parents.
What began as childhood defiance eventually became a professional career. As an amateur, Guadalupe Medina fought 56 bouts and won five national titles. From the ages of nine to fifteen, she competed in the Junior Olympics and always returned home with gold medals. At fifteen, she made up her mind: boxing was not just a sport, it was her passion.
As a professional, she has already fought 12 bouts. Her manager is Manny Robles and her trainer is Edgar “Estrellita” Jasso, both of whom have worked with champions such as Oscar Valdez, Andy Ruiz Jr., and Brandon Figueroa.
The young Nicaraguan-American fights in the minimumweight division (105 pounds) and has her sights set on a world title. “The plan is to fight for the world title by the end of the year (2026), against Yokasta Valle,” she says.
Her fighting style defies labels. She is aggressive, but versatile: she can fight either southpaw or orthodox depending on what her opponent presents. “I feel like I can adapt really quickly. I see their mistakes and capitalize on them,” she explains.
Outside the ring, Guadalupe Medina is the complete opposite of her image in the ring. She describes herself as loving, though she admits she can also be hot-tempered and stubborn. “That’s why the sport almost doesn’t match my personality, because boxing is so intense and I’m totally the opposite,” she says with a laugh.
Nicaraguan at Heart, Though Born in California
Her parents are originally from Estelí. Her mother, Marisol Galeano, grew up in the countryside, while her father arrived in the United States after completing military service. Together, they made sure their Nicaraguan roots were never lost at home: Spanish was their children’s first language before English, and the daily breakfast was — and still is — gallo pinto with fried plantains. Nicaraguan culture has always reigned in the household.
That is why, although she was born on Californian soil, Guadalupe Medina chose to represent Nicaragua from her amateur days onward and never looked back. “When I step into the ring, I’m not only representing myself, but also the country of Nicaragua and all the people there who have been supporting me,” she says, her voice filled with emotion.
Every Saturday during her childhood, the family gathered to rewatch fights by Alexis Argüello and Edwin Valero. That weekly ritual became Guadalupe Medina’s first training ground.
“It’s a great honor for me to carry the Nicaraguan flag high and to achieve a dream that my father and my brother had, but were unable to accomplish,” she concluded.
A Demanding Relationship: Six Days a Week in the Gym
Behind her twelve professional victories and national titles lies a level of discipline few people are willing to sustain. Guadalupe Medina trains six days a week, from Monday to Saturday, following a routine divided into two or three sessions a day.
“Boxing is like being in a jealous relationship. You have to give it everything — all your time,” she says.
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are sparring days. She starts at nine in the morning and works in the ring until eleven. In the afternoon, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m., she focuses on strength training with weights.
The day ends with a nighttime run. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the routine is even longer: it begins at seven in the morning on the track, moves to the gym at nine, and returns to weight training around three in the afternoon. In total, she can accumulate between four and six hours of physical training in a single day.
That total commitment has allowed her to advance in her career while balancing other responsibilities at the same time: she is studying Business Administration and has one year left before graduating.
Now, with a world title fight on the horizon, her focus is completely on boxing. “If I don’t train six days a week, Monday through Saturday, it feels like I’m not training at all,” the boxer says, making clear that for her, the routine is non-negotiable.
