Ivan Calderon Voted into International Boxing Hall of Fame

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Ivan Calderon has entered the Hall…

The 48-year-old Puerto Rican former professional boxer, a two-weight world champion who competed from 2001 to 2012, has been elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

The 13-member class was voted by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians.

Calderon (35-3-1, 6 KOs) held the WBO mini flyweight title from 2003 to 2007, making eleven successful defenses and being recognized as super champion by the organization. He also held the WBO, Ring magazine, and lineal light flyweight titles from 2007 to 2010 (making six successful defenses).^[1] Additionally, his August 2010 bout against Giovani Segura was named fight of the year by Ring magazine.

As an amateur Calderón represented Puerto Rico in international competitions, including the 2000 Olympics.

Diego Corrales, who died two years after winning a 2005 bout voted “Fight of the Year,” is the other member of the Hall’s 2024 class from the men’s modern category.

The enshrinement ceremonies will be June 6-9.

Corrales went 40-5 with 33 KOs and is best remembered for his 2005 victory over Jose Luis Castillo, when he was knocked down twice in the 10th round but then rallied later in the round to stop Castillo.

The former super featherweight and lightweight champion died in 2007 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

Ana Maria Torres of Mexico was elected from the women’s modern category. The 43-year-old Mexican former professional boxer competed from 1999 to 2012. She held the WBC female super flyweight title twice between 2007 and 2012, and challenged once for the WBC female bantamweight title in 2006.

Luis Angel Firpo in the old-timer category was also voted into the hall.

The late Argentine boxer was the first Latin American in history to challenge for the world heavyweight title. His bout against Jess Willard set a world record for boxing attendance. And his heavyweight title bout against Jack Dempseywas namedRing Magazine Fight of the Year for 1923.

Miguel Cotto Named to International Boxing Hall of Fame

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Miguel Cotto entering the hall…

The 41-year-old Puerto Rican former professional boxer will be enshrined into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, alongside Roy Jones Jr. and James Toney.

Cotto, Jones and Toney highlight the Boxing Hall’s Class of 2022, as revealed on Tuesday.

They’re joined by female champions Holly Holm and Regina Hamlisch, alongside publicist Bill Caplan, journalist Ron Borges and historian/producer Bob Yalen.

When they’re all inducted on June 12 in Canastota, New York, the group will be accompanied by the previous two classes. Because of the pandemic, fighters from those classes — such as Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward and Wladimir Klitschko — have yet to be enshrined.

Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs) retired at age 37 following an upset loss to Sadam Ali. One of the most accomplished boxers from Puerto Rico, Cotto routinely fought before sellout crowds at Madison Square Garden, thrilling the masses with his ferocious body punching.

Cotto won titles at 147 pounds and 154 before he upset Sergio Martinez for the middleweight championship. Cotto competed with three Hall of Famers during his career: a win over Shane Mosley and losses to Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Cotto was also defeated by future Hall of Famer Canelo Alvarez.

Cotto’s loss to Antonio Margarito in 2008 is a welterweight classic. He later avenged the defeat.

Juan Manuel Marquez to Fight Miguel Cotto in Exhibition Match

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Manuel Marquez is heading back to the ring…

The 47-year-old Mexican former professional boxer and former four-division world champion is planning to fight against fellow former four-division champ Miguel Cotto in an exhibition match on June 12 in Miami, according to ESPN.

Even as an exhibition, Cotto-Marquez will add to the rich boxing rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs) has not fought since May 2014, when he got off the canvas to beat Mike Alvarado in his 64th professional fight.

Marquez has won titles at featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight. Marquez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019.

Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs), of Caguas, Puerto Rico, last fought on December 2, 2017, in a unanimous decision loss to Sadam Ali.

He has won world titles at junior welterweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight.

The source added that a fight between WBC flyweight interim titlist McWilliams Arroyo and Francisco Rodríguez could be part of the undercard. An official announcement is expected to be made on April 12.

El Nuevo Día was first to report the fight.

Oscar de la Hoya Says He’s Coming Out of Retirement & Resuming Boxing Career

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Oscar de la Hoya is ready to rumble once again…

The 47-year-old Mexican American former professional boxer and boxing/mixed martial arts promoter says he’s planning to return to the ring.

Twelve years after his last fight, the 11-time titlist confirmed he’s ready to end his retirement.

“The rumors are true, and I’m going to start sparring in the next few weeks,” de la Hoya said.

de la Hoya (39-6 30 KOs) added that he won’t be engaging in an exhibition fight like fellow retired champions Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.

“It’s a real fight,” he said. “I miss being in the ring, I love boxing. Boxing is what gave me everything I have today, and I just miss it.”

After winning a gold medal for the United States at the 1992 Barcelona Games, de la Hoya had a meteoric rise in the professional ranks, winning the WBO junior lightweight title by stopping Jimmi Bredahl in 10 rounds in 1994, in only his 12th professional bout.

de la Hoya would eventually win major world titles in six different weight classes.

During this stretch, “The Golden Boy” was considered one of the best fighters in boxing and its biggest pay-per-view and gate attraction. He was as marketable outside the ring as he was good inside of it. There are very few fighters who can appear on the cover of Ring Magazine and Newsweek.

de la Hoya’s career came to an ignominious conclusion when he quit on his stool after the eighth round of a fight against Manny Pacquiao in December 2008. A few months later at age 36, de la Hoya announced his retirement.

“Look, my last fight with Pacquiao, I weighed in at 145 and obviously that was a shell of myself,” said de la Hoya of his ill-fated decision to move down to welterweight to face Pacquiao after seven years of campaigning at junior middleweight.

Now, as he’s set to return, de la Hoya understands that many will question his decision.

“Look, it’s been a long time, yes,” said de la Hoya, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014. “But actually my jab feels faster than ever. I have to make sure that my conditioning is perfect, my health is good. And that’s going to take place in the next few weeks. So we’ll see.”

de la Hoya, who has battled drug and alcohol addiction in the past, said he started to get back into shape a couple of months ago, and as he began to feel better and better, the old itch came back.

de la Hoya said he looked around the current landscape of boxing and didn’t like what he saw.

“All these fighters are not of the level that was 15, 20 years [ago], all these fighters are demanding so much money, all these fighters are demanding the moon,” said de la Hoya. “And they’re forgetting that you must train hard, you must work hard. So that’s a huge advantage for me because I know what it takes to train hard, I know how to train smart. I know how to fight smart in the ring.

“These guys are in it just for the money — that’ll be the big difference. I will fight for the glory, and these guys only fight for the money. And guess what? The glory will always win.”

For now, the plan is to compete between 154-160 pounds. As for who he will be targeting?

“Any top guy, any top guy out there,” said de la Hoya.

Emanuel Navarrete Defeats Juan Miguel Elorde to Retain Junior Featherweight Belt

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Emanuel Navarrete is celebrating Mexico’s Independence Day with a W…

The 24-year-old Mexican professional boxer, the junior featherweight world titlist, retained his belt for the second time in a month after stopping Juan Miguel Elorde in the fourth round on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Fighting in the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+co-feature, Navarrete took the fight on short notice for the opportunity to fight on Mexican Independence Dayweekend, and he took care of Elorde in fine fashion.

Navarrete (29-1, 25 KOs), who retained his 122-pound world title for the third time — each defense since May — had a slow first round, then unloaded repeatedly on Elorde, scoring a knockdown in the third round and eventually forcing the stoppage.

“I’m happy because I think I put on a great performance,” Navarrete said through a translator. “Fortunately, my opponent is OK, and I came out here to put on a show. I hope the fans enjoyed it on my very first Las Vegas show on Mexican Independence Day weekend. ‘Vaquero‘ Navarrete is here to stay.”

Navarrete was fighting less than a month after his last defense. On August 17, Navarrete headlined a Top Rankcard in Los Angeles and retained his title by third-round knockout of Francisco De Vaca. In the ring after the fight, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, wanting to put a fight involving a Mexican world titleholder on Fury’s undercard on the Mexican holiday weekend, asked Navarrete if he wanted to come back a month later, and Navarrete gleefully accepted.

Elorde had a good first round, landing a series of sharp punches; but Navarrete came back strong in the second round, as he got his potent left hook going and never let up.

Navarrete stopped Elorde in his tracks with a clean right hand in the third round and continued to attack him. Moments later, Navarrete rocked Elorde with a thudding left hand to the face that might have broken Elorde’s nose. Navarrete was in total control by the end of the round when he drilled Elorde into the ropes with a left and a right that counted as a knockdown because the ropes held him up.

Referee Russell Moratook a long look at Elorde in the corner after the third round, but the fight was allowed to continue. However, Navarrete hurt his opponent early in the round with a tremendous right hand that buckled him, and Mora jumped in and waved it off at 26 seconds.

“The most important thing here was that it was a good performance for me,” Navarrete said. “I think the referee did the right thing. He’s going to go home to his family and everything is going to be OK. It was a good performance on my behalf, and he gave what he could. At the end of the day, I came away with the hard-fought victory.”

According to CompuBox, Navarrete landed 88 of 220 punches (40%), and Elorde landed just 28 of 101 (28%).Elorde (28-2, 15 KOs), 32, of the Philippines — who is the grandson of Filipino legend and International Boxing Hall of Famer Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, the longtime 1960s junior lightweight world champion — also happily accepted the fight on three weeks’ notice. He

Cotto Soundly Defeats Sergio Martinez to Win the Middleweight Championship

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a win “four” the history books for Miguel Cotto…

The 33-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, in what ESPN calls “an absolute tour de force,” won the middleweight championship of the world and made boxing history on Saturday night by stopping Sergio Martinez in the 10th round at Madison Square Garden.

Cotto scored four knockdowns — three in the first round — in a remarkably dominant performance. After he dropped Martinez in the ninth round, Martinez was still on his stool when trainer Pablo Sarmiento would not let him continue, and referee Michael Griffin stopped the bout six seconds into the 10th round.

The largely Puerto Rican crowd of 21,090, who were mostly there for Cotto on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Parade in New York, erupted in cheers.

With the overwhelming victory, Cotto made the Puerto Rican history that was his motivation for taking the fight — to become the first boxer from the island to win world titles in four weight classes.

Puerto Rican greats such as Wilfredo Benitez, Wilfredo Gomez and Felix Trinidad — all International Boxing Hall of Famers — each won world titles in three weight classes and became legends.

Now Cotto is one better than them.

“Happiest day of my life,” Cotto said. “This is the biggest achievement of my professional career.”

Cotto, who has won world titles at middleweight, junior middleweight, welterweight and junior welterweight, won every round and was ahead 90-77 on all three scorecards when the fight was stopped.

“I’m proud of Miguel. He worked so hard,” said Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, in only his second fight with Cotto. “He deserves this historic victory.”

De La Hoya Elected to International Boxing Hall of Fame

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Oscar De La Hoya will forever be remembered for his illustrious career…

The 40-year-old retired Mexican American boxer and Olympic gold medalist has been elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in balloting results announced Wednesday.

De La Hoya has earned the honor in his first year of eligibility.

“I am honored and appreciative to be chosen for the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014 and I thank everyone who has been a part of this journey with me,” said De La Hoya, who has struggled with substance abuse issues during retirement but also founded Golden Boy Promotions, one of the leading promotional companies in the world.

De La Hoya — “The Golden Boy” from East Los Angeles — won a 1992 Olympic gold medal at the Barcelona Games shortly after graduating from James A. Garfield High School before rocketing to professional stardom that resulted in his winning 10 world titles in a then-record six weight divisions (junior lightweight to middleweight) while becoming the face of boxing and a pay-per-view mega star during his 1992 to 2008 career.

“This is the dream of everyone who puts on a pair of gloves and steps between the ropes, and through the good and the bad, you always hope that when all is said and done, you put on good fights, entertained the fans and will be remembered for what you did in the ring. To know that I will be in the Hall of Fame with the greats of this sport is humbling, but it’s also put a smile on my face that isn’t coming off anytime soon.”

De La Hoya, whose titles came at 130, 135, 140, 147, 154 and 160 pounds, faced a who’s who of top opponents, including beating Hall of Famers Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. (twice), Pernell Whitaker and Arturo Gatti. He also faced the likes of Feiix Trinidad (a fellow honoree), Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Ike Quartey, Shane Mosley (twice), Fernando Vargas, Hector Camacho Sr. and Genaro Hernandez.

De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) was a heavyweight when it came to selling pay-per-view as fans of all kinds, including women and a passionate Hispanic fan base, flocked to his fights. His 2007 junior middleweight championship fight against Mayweather set numerous revenue records, including selling nearly 2.5 million pay-per-view subscriptions, still the all-time high.

Joining him and Trinidad in the modern category of inductees (voted on by the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of boxing historians) is ormer super middleweight world champion Joe Calzaghe, who retired undefeated and is widely considered the best fighter to come out of Wales.

They will be honored on June 8 during the 25th annual inductions ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: International Boxing Hall of Fame