The general notion when describing a boxing family or dynasty usually involves lineages that stretch back for generations, parents sharing their knowledge with their offspring, inspiring and guiding careers through the years.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s Alejandro Silva.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe always motivates me and encourages me,\u201d says Silva, in reference to his hero, his wife and multiweight champion Yesica Bopp, during a halt in his training ahead of a junior middleweight bout Saturday in Colombia against Jesus Payan. \u201cShe went through so many things, I can\u2019t even remember how many title defenses she had. I haven\u2019t even fought 12 rounds yet. Aside from all the male boxers, she is my favorite fighter, and she always has been. I never imagined that we would raise a family together one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silva, 32, a decorated amateur with a near-perfect resume as a pro (25-0-1, 20 KOs), shares his home and a daughter with Bopp, a veteran of over 40 fights and a dozen achievements that include her being the first amateur boxer in Argentine history and one of the first to earn multiple pro title belts. <\/p>\n
Aside from that, they share their commitment to become the world\u2019s first documented husband-wife pair of boxing champions. And Bopp is all in on the task as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are building a future world champion,\u201d said Bopp, pregnant with the couple\u2019s second child and all but retired from professional boxing. \u201cBeyond the fact that he shares his life with a world champion, he understood the principles of becoming successful, and without those principles and values you never get anywhere. He has what it takes as a person and as an athlete to become world champion. He\u2019s jumping through the usual hoops and obstacles that will clearly lead him to the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
The closest obstacle in Silva\u2019s path will be Mexico\u2019s Payan, a fighter with a respectable ledger (11-1-2, 7 KOs) and nothing to lose in this clash away from home. But Silva seems fully focused on the task at hand, and refuses to look past this challenge until it\u2019s in the record books.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know he\u2019s Mexican, and they are all warriors,\u201d said Silva. \u201cBut I\u2019ve had a great preparation. I had some great sparring partners. I trust a lot in myself and in my experience. I\u2019ve been at this for a longtime, and I train year-round. I am always happy when I am about to get in the ring because I train for that. I know I will have a great fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sparring partners in his weight class are not abundant in Argentina, but Silva got his dose of confidence and then some during an almost three-year stay in the Los Angeles area, where he got more than his share of quality gym tussles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great experience for my family. It was a big change for us, leaving everything behind in search for a dream. We really got a lot of experience both in sports and as a family. As far as competing, I felt I was up to the level in every gym I went to. I participated in a reality show where I represented Los Angeles, and we fought against other districts, I was picked as captain of the team even though I didn\u2019t speak the language, so it was an amazing experience. This gave me access to a great progress as a person and as an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
His progress in the U.S. caught the eye of Westside Promotions\u2019 Patrick Ragan, who handles his career and has big plans in mind for the Argentine contender.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlejandro is a pressure fighter who possesses tremendous power in both hands along with great boxing skills and a high boxing IQ,\u201d said Ragan. \u201cIn the boxing world, we all know that Argentina has produced some great fighters. I believe Alejandro\u2019s name will be included in that list. I feel very confident Alejandro will be in line for a world title opportunity by end of 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silva is excited about that prospect, but time has taught him not to confuse a dream with a post-dated check.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to be patient and to not despair,\u201d said Silva. \u201cWhen I moved to the U.S., I did it with this goal in mind, of having a world title shot, or getting a good contract from a good promoter but I wasn\u2019t able to do it. Now that I am here in Argentina I finally had the chance to sign with Westside Promotions. Now my career is in their hands, and they\u2019ll have to find me the best fights and work on getting me the opportunities for a world title that I\u2019ve been looking for since I became a professional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever opportunities may knock on his door, Silva is committed to remaining at what he feels is his natural weight of 154 pounds. Which for a fighter who hovers around 6 feet may be a problem down the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the reality show I fought at 164 pounds, which is two divisions above mine. I felt great, very strong. I never had to struggle to make weight. Making 154 takes some hard work but I have a great nutritionist in Alejandro Ardiles, who is part of my team. I\u2019ve been working with him since my first professional fight and I never had any weight issues. He\u2019s going to be the one to tell me when I can\u2019t make 154 anymore. For now, I have no problem. With the experience that I had fighting at 160 pounds and even a bit higher I can tell that I can take the punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The question for Silva, then, is whether Payan can take what he has to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope he trains well because I am ready for a war and to show the world that I am ready to become world champion,” said Silva. \u201cI am ready for this obstacle and to give a good show. I am not going to tell you whether I will win by knockout or on points because I never go out looking for a knockout, but you can count on me going for the win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having already sparred and worked out with some of his idols such as Brian Casta\u00f1o and Floyd Mayweather, and having put his body through the punishing doghouse sparring style of SoCal, all that Silva claims he needs is to continue following on the path laid down for him by his life partner. And for that, he has his work cut out for him.<\/p>\n
His wife, for one, feels he\u2019s ready for the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a great team, both professionally and as a family,\u201d said Bopp, who is in line for a shoo-in first-ballot Hall of Fame induction. \u201cHe knows what it feels to be champion because he lived it through me, but for a man is much more different. He is in an elite division, but with the experience he earned in the U.S. he knows he has to go against the entire system as a Latino fighter to win a title. But we\u2019re full steam ahead with his plan. I know it\u2019s only a matter of time before he gets his chance to bring a title to our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silva, ready as he may one day be, does not even entertain the idea of being able to match his wife\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never imagined having to be at her same level, because it would be like thinking I have to be up to Mayweather\u2019s level, or [Terence] Crawford or Canelo [Alvarez], because that\u2019s the level I see her at. Not anyone can claim to have been world champion for 13 years. I see her as a towering figure in boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The general notion when describing a boxing family or dynasty usually involves lineages that stretch back for generations,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,6842,6836,6841,6840,6834,6102,6837,6838,6839,6835,6588,6847,6846,6830,6828,6829,6844,6831,6827,6848,6843,101,6845,6826,6833,56,54,55,6832],"class_list":{"0":"post-181690","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-boxing-community","10":"tag-boxing-fights","11":"tag-boxing-history","12":"tag-boxing-interviews","13":"tag-boxing-magazine","14":"tag-boxing-news","15":"tag-boxing-photos","16":"tag-boxing-rankings","17":"tag-boxing-schedule","18":"tag-boxing-videos","19":"tag-boxing-results","20":"tag-disqualification","21":"tag-draw","22":"tag-fight","23":"tag-fighter","24":"tag-fighter-news","25":"tag-knockout","26":"tag-latest-boxing-matches","27":"tag-ring","28":"tag-ring-magazine","29":"tag-split-decision","30":"tag-sports","31":"tag-technical-knockout","32":"tag-the-ring","33":"tag-top-fighters","34":"tag-uk","35":"tag-united-kingdom","36":"tag-unitedkingdom","37":"tag-upcoming-boxing-matches"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}