Marilyn Badillo shares message of resilience and mental health

In an emotional edition of Martes de Café, young Mexican boxer Marilyn Badillo presented a video showcasing highlights from her professional career.

With sincerity and gratitude, she said:

“I’m back at Martes de Café, where I always feel welcome — this is my family, and I’ll always say that.”

Badillo recalled her recent world title challenge against Gabriela Fundora at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California, where she had to travel alone, without her team or family, due to visa issues.

“A few months ago, I went for a world title while dealing with problems outside the ring,” she shared.

During her appearance, Marilyn spoke openly about mental health and the importance of learning from defeat: “I never give up — I always look for a way to improve.”

WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán praised her professionalism and maturity:

“Thank you so much, Marilyn. She chose professionalism above all else and went to fight without anyone by her side. This is a reminder for promoters and managers to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Learning from a loss is the best lesson one can have. I admire your maturity — congratulations, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more from you.”

Badillo’s words earned applause from the audience, closing her participation with a clear message: true strength isn’t just about winning, but about getting back up after every fall.

Marilyn’s message:

“The Silence After a Defeat”

As high-performance athletes, we spend an entire lifetime preparing for a single moment. We sacrifice moments of youth, family, and physical and mental health… everything, to chase a dream that is sometimes played out in just a few minutes in a ring.

For fifteen years, I have worked beyond my limits. Since I was ten years old, I set goals for myself that seemed impossible, and one by one, I achieved them. Recently, I accomplished one of the biggest: earning the opportunity to become a world champion.

I packed my suitcase full of dreams and faith, and although I made that journey alone—without my team, without the stability that having your people in the corner provides—I arrived on the day I had dreamed of so much. That day when every athlete hopes to demonstrate what they have inside.

But what no one wants to happen, happened. My mind was everywhere except in the ring. My body wanted to fight, but my soul was alone. And in that moment, I understood that talent is not enough; the mind and heart also need to feel accompanied. Losing hurts. It hurts because you know everything you did, because you prepared to win. It hurts to arrive at a lonely, cold dressing room where there are only your thoughts, a pair of boots, and yourself… And it hurts more when there are injustices, when the effort is not recognized, or when the result does not reflect your commitment.

But I also learned something: Throughout history, we have admired dozens of athletes from different sports; we have shouted their names in front of a television, admiring their talent, their discipline, and their perseverance in carving out a place in the big leagues. However, they all agree on one thing… They, too, knew the taste of defeat… It is the painful part of the sport that no one teaches us to deal with except our own passion for becoming the best… Because if we had to give up with every stumble we take, there would be no Muhammad Ali, no Justin Jefferson, no Serena Williams, or no Simone Biles—all of whom turned every defeat into a symbol and a legend of the sport. It doesn’t matter how many times you lose; what matters is what you teach the world about how far a human being can go if they commit to their dreams, no matter the path… And that is what I learned after my setback: that even a defeat can be a victory if you face it with dignity, that failures do not define you as an athlete. What defines you is what you do with it—what you build with that opportunity to start from scratch… And I will take all these lessons with love and discipline to keep going, because as one of my favorite superheroes said, “No matter how many times I get hit, I always find a way to get up, because I love being Spider-Man.” And I love being Marilyn, and I love this sport, and I will keep moving forward to become a great figure in it…

May every fall force me to look inward and remember why I started. And when the world turns its back on you, that is where the true character of a champion is forged.