Alejandro Silva has spent his entire career flying under the radar, but the time is almost right to learn how high he can rise.
Silva, a 26-0-1 (21 KOs) junior middleweight from Argentina, made another small but significant step upward Saturday in Colombia, where he authored a clinical seventh-round stoppage of Mexico’s Jesus Payan.
The fight, which received no broadcast coverage from any of boxing’s usual global streamers, was arranged as something of a test case for Silva. Patrick Ragan, whose Westside Promotions guides Silva’s career, has been building his fighter slowly, with calculated precision – not because he believes Silva can’t handle more, but because he wants to be certain he’s ready to peak and make the most of his potential when he does get his big opportunity.
Payan, now 11-2-2 (7 KOs), was viewed as a sturdy, young (23) opponent with pop and a pedigree coming up in Mexico. The setting – Colombia – was a late decision that Ragan believed could help reveal more about Silva’s readiness and character in the ring. The reward: A gorgeously clean three-punch combination from Silva that floored Payan and effectively ended the fight.
“Alejandro is a pressure fighter who possesses tremendous power in both hands, along with great boxing skills and a high boxing IQ,” Ragan said. “In the boxing world, we all know that Argentina has produced some great fighters. I believe Alejandro’s name will be included in that list.”
Silva is already intimately familiar with one of those names: former women’s junior flyweight and flyweight titleholder Yesica Bopp, who is also Silva’s wife.
It’s Bopp, 39-3 (17 KOs), who has provided inspiration as well as practical guidance as Silva builds his own career. Asked if they were competitive with one another, Silva said, “No, there’s nothing to be jealous about. I mean, 13 years, world champ. There's nothing to be competitive about. I just admire her more.”
The couple briefly moved to Palisades, California, and Silva had a pair of low-level fights in the United States, but the pull of home drew them back to Argentina, where they opened and together manage And the New Boxing gym.
Ragan paints a picture of Silva as a dedicated family man, and with a gym to run and Bopp now expecting, the fighter, at age 32, is straddling two worlds. Perhaps that’s why Silva says he’s leaving all the career planning to Ragan, following the script and trusting in the process.
“Every fighter wants to fight the top champions,” Silva said. “But we'll get over this fight and try to close the year off with one more fight, and then we’ll go from there.”
As for what the next stage of the process looks like for Silva, his chance to join Bopp as the second world titlist in the family, Ragan says, is close at hand.
“I feel very confident,” Ragan said, “Alejandro will be in line for a world title opportunity by the end of 2026.”
