Former unified world champions Yokasta Valle and Marlen Esparza squared off Saturday for their high-stakes matchup with a potential date against undisputed flyweight queen Gabriel Fundora hanging in the balance.

And it was the three-division title holder Valle (100, 105, 108 pounds) who’ll have the chance to win a crown in another weight class, as she outpointed Esparza via split decision in a competitive and technical clash in Cancun, Mexico.

The bigger Esparza (15-3, 1 KO), who missed weight in her third straight bout, fought almost exclusively off the front foot while the light, limber, and much busier Valle (33-3, 10 KOs), who was moving up two weight classes for the contest, jumped in and out of the pocket to establish her offense and pick apart her counterpart.

The judges ultimately awarded Valle scores of 97-93 and 97-93, while a third judge scored it 96-94 for Esparza.

Valle landed 102 of 573 of her shots, while Esparza connected with 91 of 421.

After a feel-out first round, Valle turned up the dial from there on, setting a tone for the fight with her fleet feet and power shots.

The 2012 United States Olympian and former flyweight champion Esparza, meanwhile, adjusted by timing her punches and unleashing right hands in between her Costa Rican opponent's output.

Through the first half of the fight, Valle outlanded Esparza 58 of 302 to 48 of 228.

The offensive pace slowed a touch from rounds six through eight. The eighth round ended prematurely – and curiously – with the bell sounding with nearly 40 seconds left in the frame.

Both fighters got off their stool with a sense of urgency in the tenth and final round, unleashing right hands right off the get go. A left hook from Valle knocked Esparza off balance with under a minute to go to punctuate her winning performance.