Alejandra Marina Oliveras (; 20 March 1978 â 28 July 2025), known as "La Locomotora", was an Argentine professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2015. She won world championships in four weight classes including the World Boxing Council (WBC) female super-bantamweight title from 2006 to 2008, the World Boxing Association (WBA) female lightweight title from 2011 to 2012, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) female featherweight title from 2012 to 2013, and WBC female super-lightweight title from 2013 to 2014.
Oliveras was also an activist for gender equality and promoted women's boxing. She was inducted into the Latin American Boxing Hall of Fame in 2024. Oliveras is also a member of the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame.
Oliveras was born on 20 March 1978 in El Carmen, Jujuy, Argentina, and was raised in Alejandro Roca, Juárez Celman Department, in a humble family. She was the fourth of seven siblings and after finishing primary school she began working as a farm labourer. A victim of gender violence since becoming a mother at the age of 14 until she separated from her husband, she took up boxing as a form of self-defense.
After holding several jobs, Oliveras began working at a local radio station reading the news. After reading a news story about Mike Tyson, a boxer she admired, she commented on live radio, saying, "I wish I could be a boxer". Soon, a former boxer who was in town called the radio station and asked about her. The following month, they organised a boxing festival with a girl from the town.
Oliveras made her professional boxing debut on 12 August 2005 in General Levalle, Córdoba, with a knockout victory over MarÃÂa del Carmen Potenza. On 20 May 2006, she won her first international title by becoming the World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight world champion against Jackie Nava in Mexico.
On 13 October of that year, she successfully defended her title in Rosario against Anays Gutiérrez Carrillo, "La Dama del Ring" (The Lady of the Ring), in a hard-fought bout. Oliveras suffered her first defeat on 4 December 2008, when Marcela âÂÂLa Tigresaâ Acuña took her title on 4 December 2008 at Luna Park Stadium.
On 5 January 2012, Oliveras won against Jessica Villafranca by a knockout. The two were fighting for the vacant WBO featherweight world title.
On 19 April 2013, on her 5th defense of the featherweight title, Oliveras defeated Calixta Silgado in the fifth round by knockout. On 11 October 2013, she won the WBC Superkigero title against Lely Luz Flórez.
Oliveras lost her WBC light welterweight title on 15 November 2014, after being defeated by Erica Farias in a split decision. After this defeat, she ended her career with two victories, in 2015 and 2017. She finished with a record of 33 wins (16 KOs), 2 draws and 3 losses (no KOs), and her style was defined as aggressive and forceful when attacking.
She was inducted into the Latin American Boxing Hall of Fame in 2024. In October 2025, she was posthumously named among the inductees for the 2026 International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame class.
Oliveras stood out for her activism in favour of women's boxing and against gender inequality, especially in terms of remuneration in sport.
She founded Team Locomotora, a gym that offered free classes to low-income youth in Santó Tomé, Santa Fe, and participated in campaigns against gender violence. Oliveras also organised motivational talks for young people.
Ahead of the 2021 legislative elections, Oliveras announced her intention to run for a seat in the lower house of Congress as part of the right-wing Unite Santa Fe party. With 3.91% of the votes, Oliveras's candidacy did not receive enough votes to get her elected. Oliveras supported Patricia Bullrich's presidential run in the 2023 general election. Following Bullrich's appointment as security minister in the government of Javier Milei, she appointed Oliveras to oversee the country's sports security agency.
In 2025, Oliveras ran for a seat in the Constitutional Convention tasked with writing a new constitution for Santa Fe Province. She won her seat with 78,471 votes, the sixth-most among all candidates in the province.
Oliveras had two sons, Alejandro and Alexis, both also gym instructors who worked with her.
On 14 July 2025, Oliveras suffered a stroke, leaving her hospitalized in Santa Fe, Argentina, in serious condition. That day, she was to be sworn in as a member of the Santa Fe Constitutional Convention, which was beginning its sessions. She died 14 days later from a pulmonary embolism on 28 July, at the age of 47.
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