Nelson Oliva believes sparring some of boxing’s best fighters is beneficial to his development in the sport.

Oliva will face Alfonso Olvera tonight at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. The eight-round bout will headline a six-bout New Blood card that will stream live on Fubo Sports, FOX Deportes, Stadium, and Gray TV (9:30 p.m. ET/ 6:30 p.m. PT).

At Friday’s weigh-in, Oliva weighed in at 153.6 pounds. Olvera came in at 153 pounds.

Oliva (11-0, 8 knockouts), who resides in Los Angeles, has had the fortune of recently sparring IBF and WBO world unified world titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly and middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz. The rounds of sparring have benefitted Oliva, even changing the mental approach to his fights. 

“When I began working with Hamzah, I noticed their approach when it comes to sparring,” Oliva told The Ring this past week. “They really know how to pace themselves and these are already 12-round fighters. I noticed that in the caliber of sparring compared to other fighters I’ve gotten in the ring with.”

The 28-year-old Oliva is trained by Henry Ramirez, who has also trained in the likes of former world heavyweight Chris Arreola and welterweight Josesito Lopez. 

Ramirez has seen Oliva’s skill-set improve over the last couple of years, whether it is the amount of mitt work that is done in the gym or from sparring against top-level fighters. 

“Nestor is a very good fighter,” Ramirez told The Ring earlier this week. “He’s low maintenance and a very humble guy. You actually feel like you’re talking to an adult when speaking to him. He’s a pretty good boxer. I think he’s grown into a natural boxer. He has a lot of knockouts, but he has improved his skill-set a lot. He has more elusiveness. It’s something that he’ll show later on. He has fluctuated between 154, 160 and 168 pounds, but he’s going to campaign at 160 pounds.”

Oliva first began fighting on Thompson Boxing Promotion cards, which promoted fight cards in nearby Ontario and Corona. The General Manager and matchmaker was Alex Camponovo, who now runs CBN Promotions since last year. 

The Olvera fight will mark Oliva’s second of this year, but Oliva is grateful for the opportunity to fight on local cards in front of family and friends, including developing as a fighter.

“I’ve been with Alex since the beginning of my career,” said Oliva, who made his pro debut in February 2021. “It’s been great working with them. It keeps me busy and I think that’s the most important thing about my career. Keeping busy and staying active, and just keep getting these fights. I want to improve myself and improve confidence in myself. My team believes in me, and with the skills I’m learning, just to be consistent in my development to go to the next level.”

Oliva would like to fight once more this year. Whether he does or not, Oliva believes 2025 will be a great year for him, one where he could stand out and assert himself as a legit prospect at 154 pounds.

“I actually believe 2025 will be a great year for me,” said Oliva. “This is my first official fight as a junior middleweight. There’s a lot of talent in that division. There’s a lot of fights for me that could be made there. 

“Anything could be next after my fight against Olvera. I’m open to all opportunities. I’m just a phone call away. I definitely want to fight more often.”

In his last bout on March 30, Oliva defeated Franyerson Puerta by unanimous decision. In his previous fight on November 4, Oliva outboxed Dario Meneses-Guerrero en route to a decision victory.

Olvera (13-8-3, 5 KOs), who is originally from Nogales, Mexico and now resides in Tucson, Arizona, has not fought since a knockout win over Ousmane Sylla on May 13 of last year. Prior to the win over Sylla, over an 11-month span, the 34-year-old lost back-to-back fights against Quinton Randall and Delonte Johnson.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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