Ariana Carrasco isn’t slowing down

Three wins into her professional career, Ariana Carrasco hasn’t had much time between them. 

Twenty-one days after her latest victory, the 23-year-old Las Cruces boxer will step through the ropes again Oct. 2 at the El Paso County Coliseum, facing Angelica Marie Flores in a four-round super welterweight bout. Carrasco enters at 3-0 with one knockout after turning professional in March, a quick start following an amateur career that included 12 national championships. 

The pace is unfamiliar even for someone who spent a decade competing as an amateur. 

“We knew that we were going to probably be fighting back-to-back, basically consecutively,” Carrasco said. “It’s different for me because when I was in the amateurs, I would mainly fight at tournaments, so I had a couple months in between tournaments.” 

Remaining near fighting condition for months at a time has forced Carrasco to learn more about recovery and how her body responds between bouts. 

“Physically, it’s very different,” Carrasco said. “I think I’m having to stay really close to top shape. Usually, as an athlete, it’s a little hard to do that most times.” 

Carrasco is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Jozette Cotton on Sept. 11 in Hidalgo, Texas. She also defeated Chanisse Jenner by unanimous decision Aug. 7 after stopping Tennielle Young in the first round of her March 14 professional debut. 

Flores will enter the opposite corner for her professional boxing debut. Carrasco said Flores’ previous combat-sports experience means she is not treating the matchup like a typical debut. 

“I know that she’s done MMA before, so she’s not new to combat sports,” Carrasco said. “She doesn’t have too big of a boxing background, which I think is going to help me a lot, especially with my experience. I’m expecting a tough opponent. I always expect tough fights. I don’t expect anything to be easy.” 

Boxing has taken her far beyond Las Cruces. 

“It just impacted me physically, mentally, and gave me some structure,” Carrasco said. “But it’s been life changing. I’ve gotten to go to so many states in the U.S. I’ve gone to go overseas, different countries, and it’s just an amazing experience that boxing has given me.” 

Carrasco considers herself a technical fighter, and her focus through three professional bouts has been on making adjustments without changing the style that brought her this far. 

“I think for me it’s always the little things,” Carrasco said. “It’s never like, ‘Oh, I want to change fully how I am or how I box,’ but just the little things. We like to critique ourselves and just come back better, stronger each fight.” 

That discipline extends beyond boxing. Carrasco also serves in the National Guard, an experience she said has reinforced the importance of teamwork in a sport often viewed as individual. 

“We like to say boxing is a lonely sport, but you still have your team behind you, and you gotta be coachable,” Carrasco said. “I think definitely being a team player, which is what you have to be when you’re serving in the military, and even with boxing.” 

Her next appearance could put her in front of an audience well beyond southern New Mexico. The Oct. 2 card is scheduled to air live on DAZN and the All Women’s Sports Network — an opportunity Carrasco did not expect four fights into her professional career. 

“I wouldn’t have thought, ‘Oh, for my fourth professional, I’m going to be on a streaming service like that,’” Carrasco said. “It’s surreal to me, honestly.” 

For Carrasco, the platform also represents something larger. 

“With women’s boxing, it just means we’re one step closer to everything that we’ve kind of been working towards,” Carrasco said. “Even me being that small part of it, I feel like is really cool.” 

No matter how far that audience reaches, Carrasco’s connection to Las Cruces remains close. She was born and raised in the city, and the support she remembers receiving began long before she became a professional. 

“It means so much to me,” Carrasco said. “I’ve grown here, been here all my life, and just the amount of support that I’ve had, even being 12 years old, starting out. I love being able to represent Las Cruces. It’s who I am.” 

Carrasco wants people who are discovering her now, to see more than an undefeated record. She wants them to see the work behind it and the team that helped her reach this point. 

 “Hopefully they learn my name,” Carrasco said. “Maybe they watch me and I gain a new supporter within my community.” 

Her ambitions stretch well beyond protecting a 3-0 start. Carrasco hopes Oct. 2 will be her final four-round fight before moving into longer bouts and beginning the next stage of her career. 

“I want to go all the way,” Carrasco said. “I didn’t put so many years of working for nothing. I want to get unified, and I want to get the belts. It’s not about the glory, but for the love of the sport.” 

First comes Flores. 

After a decade in the amateurs and four professional fights scheduled within seven months, Carrasco is not spending much time standing still. 

She would rather keep moving.