I thought that when I won the Olympic trials I was going to be the happiest person in the whole world. And I was happy. But it wasn't like I thought it was going to be. I had already imagined it in my head so many times. It was real before it happened.

Esparza was the subject of Soledad O'Brien's 2011 CNN documentary In Her Corner: Latino in America 2. Esparza has an endorsement deal with CoverGirl cosmetics.

In May 2012 Marlen Esparza qualified to compete at the 2012 Olympics becoming the first American woman to qualify for the Olympics in the first year that women's boxing will be an Olympic event. She was the subject of an extensive profile in the June 2012 issue of The Atlantic which discusses in detail her childhood education and her intense commitment to competition and training.