Alejandra Oliveras returns to action and beats Lesly Morales in Argentina
By Diego Morilla
Former four-division female champ Alejandra Oliveras returned to action after 20 months of inactivity to defeat Mexico’s Lesly Morales in the small town of Cutral Có, Neuquén, by unanimous decision on Saturday, April 8th.
But as much as Oliveras’ victory was indisputable, the debatable point of the evening was her claim to have won a fifth title in an equal number of divisions, given that she was fighting for the ignominious WPC, a borderline-illegal “sanctioning body” that has been the subject of several complaints, from blatantly fixed fights to recording non-existent bouts on BoxRec and many more.
This bout, however, was broadcasted by the local channel CN23 for the world to see (in spite of the poor lightning in the ring, a fixture of an organization that has gone as far as staging fights on rings with no canvas or padding at all, among other irregular situations) and we witnessed a spirited battle that started out as a complete domination by Oliveras only to grow into a much more competitive bout towards the end of the night.
In truth, the distance between both fighters, clearly depicted both in their experience and their body shapes (with Oliveras being known for her almost male-like muscular figure, while Morales looked much less in shape, and a lot flabbier around the waist), became shorter as the fight progressed, with Morales finding some effectiveness in her punch-and-clinch strategy.
Oliveras, 39, sent Morales to the canvas in the third round courtesy of a right cross followed by a straight left in the only knockdown of the bout, but Morales, 30, shook off the effects of that combination almost immediately to get right back into the fight. Morales’ work rate grew as the rounds passed, and she delivered a very aggressive but ineffective 10th and final round in which she pressed the action while Oliveras outboxed her from a distance while retreating against Morales’ onslaught.
The final scorecards remain a subject of discussion, since the ring announcer read one impossible scorecard of 100-80 for someone named “Olivares,” in what we can only assume was a mix-up between the fighter’s names that we refuse to untangle on our own volition. The other two cards were announced as 100-90 for Oliveras, with the only noticeable mistake being the absence of the customary points deduction for a knockdown. Referee Gustavo Morillas (no relation to the author) had to break dozens of clinches throughout the bout, but no penalties or deductions were given to either fighter in an otherwise clean fight.
With the win, Oliveras won the WPC super featherweight trinket and improved to 33-3-2 (16 KO), while Morales heads back home with after seeing her record go below .500 with this defeat, standing now at 7-8-1 (2 KO). Those who choose to believe the validity of the WPC title belt can add this accomplishment to Oliveras’ other four championships (WBC super bantamweight, WBA lightweight, WBO featherweight and WBC super lightweight titles).
Oliveras is definitely one of the most vocal proponents of that notion.
“With this victory, I am matching Floyd Mayweather’s accomplishments,” said Oliveras, among other mostly unfounded exaggerations. “I won my fifth title today, but my true fight is a fight for equality. We want to make the same money that the men make,” said Oliveras. “I am the only Argentine female fighter who won a title abroad. I am the best fighter in the world! What more should I do to prove it?”