SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — When Alexis Araiza-Mones was offered a fight with former beltholder Ebanie Bridges, she knew it was the opportunity she had been waiting for. A top amateur prior to turning pro in 2022, her career hadn’t taken off the way she had hoped it would. Entering the fight with a misleading 3-2-1 record, she needed a signature victory to prove that she wasn’t just an opponent.
A fight in Puerto Rico against the former bantamweight titlist, making her ring return after two years of inactivity, was the kind of odds that worked in her favor. Though Araiza-Mones, a 2021 National Golden Gloves champion from Fort Worth, Texas, was the “B-side” in the fight, competing against a high-profile opponent who recently signed with the show’s promoter, Most Valuable Promotions, she got the credit she deserved on the scorecards.
“One thing I've never lost is faith in myself. It's been a definitely a bit of a rough career, but I'm still here because I never stopped believing in myself, and I knew I just needed that chance,” said the 35-year-old Araiza-Mones after dominating Bridges Saturday at Coliseo Roberto Clemente, winning a unanimous decision.
“I needed a fair playing field, and I got it in Puerto Rico. I'm coming from Texas and Puerto Rico to fight an Australian. So what better way to come on an even playing field and just shine?”
That’s exactly what Araiza-Mones did, using her jab to keep the aggressive Bridges off balance, landing in combinations and working the body deftly. When Bridges made a desperate, last-round rally to turn the fight around, Araiza-Mones met her at center ring, matching her punch for punch to put an exclamation mark on her triumph.
“For whatever reason, it was this thing where everyone thought I was just a come-forward fighter, and I'm not at all. I can go forward, and I love it, but I'm a boxer. I have a high IQ. I can go forward, I can go backwards, I can fight on the inside. I can do it all. So fighting her, and she's such a great, tough opponent, but we knew it would take boxing, and it would take IQ, and it would take a jab,” said Araiza-Mones, whose record now stands at 4-2-1 (1 KO).
Bridges, 39, was making her first ring appearance since 2023, having become a first-time mother last March. It’s a struggle that Araiza-Mones, a mother of three, can relate to.
“Especially when you have kids, you go through a lot, your body, mentally, you go through a lot. I've been there,” said Araiza-Mones. “I respect her even more because I know exactly where she's coming from and how much of a battle it is, physically and mentally, to get back in that ring and to show not only to the world, but really to yourself, like, ‘Hey, I still belong here.’”
Now, Araiza-Mones feels she showed that she belongs with the top fighters in the sport. Though this fight was at bantamweight, Araiza-Mones says her natural weight is a division below at 115lbs.
“I can hope that only all the doors start opening for myself. That was the goal that, hey, I'm gonna get out there, I'm gonna get out for the world to see me, and then the world's gonna want to see me more,” said Araiza-Mones.
“Now I want my shot at 115. I want to go after the belts. I want to be a world champion. So I think it's great. I can fight at 118 but I really want to go to 115 and I want to go for a belt this year. I want a belt for sure.”
Of the four current titlists at 115lbs, Araiza-Mones says the one she’d prefer to face is Mizuki Hiruta, 10-0 (2 KOs), who won the WBO junior bantamweight title in her fourth fight back in 2022 and has made six successful defenses since then.
Aside from the opportunity to chase greatness, challenging Hiruta also gives her a chance to fulfil a couple other dreams: going to Tokyo Disneyland and exploring the country where her favorite anime shows originated.
“I would love to maybe get a fight with MVP again, or in the States against the champion. And then I would love to go to Japan. Not nothing against Mizuki, but I want to go to Japan and go to Disney. So I want to go out to Japan and fight for her belt,” said Araiza-Mones, whose current favorite animes are Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan.
“My daughter, she loves anime too, so it would be great to get out there and just get another experience like being here for the first time.”
