(JAN 7) If eyebrows were raised last month when Argentinian boxing journalists awarded three time Pan-American champion Yésica Bopp their "Firpo de Oro" as the outstanding boxer of the year – the first time a woman (and an amateur at that!) had won the award – now might be a good time to lower them.  On Saturday evening, making her professional debut in the Polideportivo Municipal, Villa Gesell, Bopp failed to disappoint, demolishing the taller and heavier Valeria Soledad Macedo of Uruguay in less than three rounds.

"Yésica was brilliant," reads the commentary on the Argentinian Boxing Federation site, "majestically sweeping the valiant Uruguayan, who had the advantage in height and reach,  from the ring. It was a demonstration of precise, swift and skilful boxing in which Bopp bested her opponent in all areas, confounding her constantly with the variety of her punches, under the accumulated weight of which Soledad Macedo's defences ultimately collapsed."

She had already been down in the first and taken a second count earlier in the third, when Bopp trapped her again against the ropes. The Uruguayan tried desperately to cover up from the ensuing hail of blows, but the onslaught penetrated, and Cesáreo Morales, refereeing, had no option but to stop the fight. "She was at Bopp's mercy," comments the same writer. "Virtually defenceless." It was the 25-year-old's first defeat in three outings.

If Bopp, described once by Argentinian team coach Héctor Morales as "the best amateur ever ", continues as she has begun, the precious, unbeaten records of many more Macedos will be china in her hands. With her sharp, stabbing lefts; long, accurate rights; and the "interesting", deft footwork that left the Uruguayan flailing vainly in response, she emerged completely unscathed from Saturday night's encounter and ready apparently to fight again in Punta del Este (Uruguay) on the 4th. "The secret is timing," says Eduardo Bejuk of Olé; "It's perhaps the most valuable attribute a boxer can possess. Omar Narváez is a master in this respect:  you discover your opponent's weakness, develop a rhythm, and time takes care of the rest."

One metre seventy five tall and 23 years old, the girl from Wilde (Buenos Aires) has blond hair, a light tan, the demeanour (we read) "of a law student" and "features more refined than those of her colleagues."

"Yésica Bopp knocks 'em dead with her fists and her beauty," was DERF's take on it.

Perhaps. But I fancy it's her fists Soledad Macedo will be remembering.

*    *    *

Date: 2008-01-05

Venue: Polideportivo Municipal de Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Over 4 rounds at junior flyweight, Yésica  "La Tuti" Bopp   [0-0-0] of Argentina (47.5 kg) defeated Valeria Soledad “La Negra” Macedo [1-0-1] of Uruguay (48.4 kg) by TKO in the third round.

Sources: FAB, Olé, La Gaceta, Latino Boxing, Boxeo Boxing, Los Andes, Ring de Ideas