(FEB 16) When it comes to boxing, one thing is certain, a win is a win is
a win, even when it isn’t.
Sometimes the judges just get it wrong and call it what you
will, it’s a fact of the game.
Most of those wrongs go unanswered, but thanks to the Mauricio
Sulaimán and Jill Diamond of the World Boxing Council, along
with boxing manager David Selwyn, one such wrong was finally
righted for Christina “Mandy” Fuentes the opponent in an IFBA
World Fly title fight against Selwyn’s own fighter, Eileen “The
Hawaiian Mongoose” Olszewski.
Back on January 16, 2015, the reigning IFBA World Fly champion
Olszewski (9-5-3) hailing from Honolulu, Hawaii, but based in
New York City, was set to defend her title against Fuentes
(3-6-5) boxing out of her hometown of Laredo, Texas. The match
was billed as the main event at the Laredo Energy Arena with all
of the attendant excitement for Fuentes.
The pair had previously clashed at Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple on
September 5, 2014, with the action overseen by the referee’s
referee, Sparkle Lee. Fighting to a draw with the scores 78-74,
76-76, 75-77, they each took stanzas in a lightning-fast back
and forth eight-round war that lived up to its main event
billing.
Fuentes, 22, had already fought Heather Hardy to a razor thin
split-decision loss and was looking to make her name in the
sport. She had begun fighting in 2010, and like Olszewski, had a
career that spanned the pre- and post-2012 London Olympic Games.
Olszewski, who turned 46 shortly after her first outing with
Fuentes, began fighting in the amateurs in 2000 before turning
pro in 2006. Olszewski was also an amateur and professional
champion, having won her first titles in the hard scrapple
pre-Games era. Prior to boxing professionally, she had studied
ballet and had been a New York Knicks “City Dancer.”
In the run-up to their ten-round World title bout, IFBA
President Judy Kulis said, “These two fighters have styles that
match up and will put on a show for the fans in attendance. This
is one you don’t want to miss.”
Fight night in the Laredo Arena was electric. Coming in for her
ring walk, Fuentes brought the crowd to its feet, their cheers
sending a warm embrace to their hometown warrior along with a
sense of excitement and destiny.
From the onset, Fuentes did not want to disappoint. She fought
ferociously and despite coming out of the first round at a 10-8
deficit due to a flash knock down from a left hook, she took the
momentum of the fight from that point on. Contemporaneous
reports generally had Fuentes leading the battle with her speed,
crisper combinations, aggression, and ring generalship—with
Olszewski using her veteran skills to rabbit around the ring and
pot shot her opponent.
Destiny, however, shined on Olszewski when the scorecards were
read out giving her the unanimous decision win, 95-94, 96-93,
95-94, to the consternation of the crowd, and even surprising
Olszewski herself. It also surprised her manager, David Selwyn,
who not only felt that she had lost, but that it might be time
for her to retire form the ring. As it was, he resigned as her
manager the following year after she lost a fight for the WBC
Silver Fly title in Mexico.
Still, the judging failure Fuentes suffered haunted Selwyn over
the years. In his estimation the issue stemmed from an
inexplicable action taken by the fight’s promoter. According to
Selwyn, even though Fuentes was the hometown fighter, the local
promoter placed Olszewski in the promoter’s corner – along with
all of the other Texas fighters. As he said, “[T]he Promoter in
Laredo made a mistake and put Eileen in the promoter[‘]s corner.
The Judges saw that and that the Promoter wanted Eileen to win
and judged the rounds accordingly.”
While that certainly does not say a lot for boxing and fairness
of boxing judging when it comes to the opponent – it’s certainly
is a fact of boxing life whether it is officially acknowledged
or not.
Fuentes had begun as a fighter with promise who fought the likes
of Seniesa Estrada and Christina Ruiz across her journey woman’s
career retiring at 29 due to her husband’s serious illness.
Despite these efforts, a boxing championship had eluded her,
something Selwyn felt strongly should be righted. With the IFBA
sanctioning body having shut down, it seemed that the issue
would never be resolved.
With a fighter’s heart of his own, Selwyn did not give up, and
reaching out to WBC Co-Chair, Women’s Champions, Jill Diamond
and with support from WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán, Selwyn
presented Fuentes with a WBC plaque commemorating Fuentes as an
uncrowned champion. Selwyn presented the award to Fuentes on
January 3, 2024, almost nine years to the day of her loss during
an interview together on the Truth + Company Boxing Podcast.
Receiving the award, Fuentes said, “I truly would want to thank
you all for everything … I recognize that I’m not just a fighter
in the ring, but I’m a fighter out of the ring in life. When …
my own people here in town come up to me and they ask me if I am
the boxer, best believe that that’s treasure to me because I
know that I left something behind not just for my people but for
the youth, for the female fighters so I know I did something
great.”
_____________________________________________
[1]
“Tonight: Current champion Eileen Olszewski for the IFBA World
Flyweight title to Defend her Title!” WBAN,
Womenboxing.com, January 16, 2015.
[1],
“Eileen Olszewski retains her IFBA Flyweight World Title against
Christina “Mandy” Fuentes by unanimous decision.” IFBA Boxing,
Facebook, January 17, 2015, comment, David Selwyn.
[1]
“David Selwyn & Mandy Fuentes with Truth & Company podcast,”
Boxing With The Truth, youtube.com, January 3, 2024.
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