From a shortlist comprising herself, WBO flyweight champion Omar
Narváez (who won the same award in 2005) and the promising amateur
Yésica (aka 'Jessica') Bopp, WBC super bantamweight champion
Alejandra Oliveras picked up the Newbery de Plata award on
Saturday as Argentina's outstanding boxer of the year 2006.
Analogous awards went to Rodrigo Palacio (football), Norberto
Fontana (motor racing), Adolfo Cambiasso (polo), Lucas Piccarelli
(basketball), Solange Wittewen (athletics), Rodrigo Vila (hockey)
and José Meolans (swimming), whilst the gold was won by a team of
blind footballers rejoicing to the name 'Los Murcielagos'
(meaning "The Bats"). The awards were presented by local government
chief Jorge Telerman on behalf of the Sub-Secretariat for Sport of
the City of Buenos Aires, in the course of a gala celebration held
in (what is invariably described as) the "mythical stadium" of Luna
Park.
Logical enough in its way, the award is nonetheless
one in the eye for arch-rival Marcela Acuña, who also captured a
world title last year. As a bauble to bait the Tigress with, the
Newbery de Plata may not quite be on a par with the WBC title
(and given that
'plata' means
'silver', one can already guess at Acuña's riposte), but the brash
and voluptuous fighter from El Carmen won't let that stop her.
"La Tigresa Acuña
cultivates her image and is never stuck for an
intelligent and well-considered reply," wrote Leondardo Benatar,
comparing the two women in an article entitled La Pelea del año?
("Fight of the year?") for Al Borde del Ring,
"whereas Oliveras just bulls forward – whether inside the ring
or out – and has a tendency to say the first thing that comes
into her head, without giving too much thought to her
surroundings; all of which makes her somewhat transparent."
Last year,
after a mediocre performance against the Colombian Anays Gutiérrez
Carrillo for which she had apologized by saying she'd been bursting
to go the loo, Oliveras made a surprise intervention – in a dress
perhaps the teensiest bit meretricious – on the TV programme
Bailando por un Sueño
(a celebrity dance
competition watched by millions, in which Acuña was taking part) to
call the woman from Formosa out: "I'm going to prove I'm the better
woman," she told the WBA champion. "You won't finish the fight on
your feet!"
"Just remember to wear diapers," replied Acuña, sweetly.
Concluded Benatar: "They're
gonna need extra seating in Luna Park, if ever those two fight!"
*
[Sources: ¿Pelea del año? ("Fight of
the Year?") by Leonardo Benatar (Al
Borde del Ring), Peleando por un sueño ("Fighting
for a dream") (DERF), Boxeo.org, Ring de Ideas, Canal26,
Página Argentina de Boxeo]
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