José Pedraza (boxer)


José Pedraza González is a Puerto Rican professional boxer and former two-weight world champion. He held the IBO super featherweight title in 2014, the IBF super featherweight title from 2015 to 2017, and the WBO lightweight title in 2018. As an amateur he represented Puerto Rico, winning medals in multiple international competitions. Among the awards he achieved are a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games, silver at the 2009 World Championships and gold at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, as well as participation in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Amateur career

Early career and Pan American Games

Pedraza participated in the 2006 Copa La Romana. In the quarter finals he defeated Javier Fortuna. He secured the bronze medal with a 12:9 victory over V.Castillo of Ecuador. Pedraza won the tournament's gold medal over localist boxer Jonathan Batista. In December, he won the lightweight national championship, defeating Hector Marengo in the finals of the Torneo Nacional Isaac Barrientos. On February 4, 2007, Pedraza debuted in the Pan American Games Qualifier defeating Oscar Diaz of the Dominican Republic. He qualified to the event by winning the bronze medal, losing to localist Lisandro Bolivar in the semifinals. On March 31, 2007, Pedraza participated in a dual against Trinidad, winning a contest over Jules De Gannes. He entered the IX Torneo José "Cheo" Aponte, debuting with a victory over Shemuel Pagan of the United States. Pedraza won the event's silver medal, losing to Jean Gomis by hit count after the contest finished tied 8:8. At the Pan American Games, he debuted winning his preliminary over Jose Virula Lopez of Guatemala. Pedraza advanced to the medal round defeating Lisandro Bolivar of Venezuela. He won the tournament's bronze medal, losing to localist Everton Lopes. Pedraza entered the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships, but lost his preliminary contest against Sadam Ali. He closed the year participating in a dual against France, losing to Daouda Sow.

Summer Olympics and World Cup

In January 2008, Pedraza defended the lightweight national championship, defeating Reynaldo Ojeda in the finals of the Torneo Nacional Isaac Barrientos. At the American Olympic Qualifier, he debuted with a 20:4 victory over Valentino Knowles of Bahamas. In the quarterfinals he lost to Yordenis Ugas. In April 2008, he entered the second American Olympic Qualifier, stopping Omar Ward of Barbados in the second round of his preliminary. He guaranteed a medal by defeating Juan Cuellar of Argentina. In the semifinals, Pedraza stopped Alexis Folleco of Ecuador in the third round. He won the tournament's gold medal and qualified to the 2008 Summer Olympics by defeating Lopes in a rematch. Pedraza debuted in the X Torneo José "Cheo" Aponte with a victory over countryman Alberto Mercado. In the finals he defeated Shemuel Pagan of the United States by walk over. Prior to the Olympics Pedraza participated in the XXXVIII International Golden Belt Tournament, advancing to the semifinals before losing to Vladimir Saruhanyan of Russia. As part of their training the boxing team moved to South Korea, in order to adapt to the time-zone. After training and participating in a series of exhibition matches, the team traveled from Corea to Beijin.
In his first Olympic fight, Pedraza defeated Onur Şipal of Turkey by points, with scores of 10–3. Throughout the event, his strategy focused on maintaining a solid defense while connecting combinations to his opponent's body. Pedraza lost his second preliminary to Daouda Sow of France by points, 13:9. He entered the 2008 Boxing World Cup, advancing to the semifinals with an 8:2 win over Georgian Popescu of Romania. He won the bronze medal, losing his next contest to Albert Selimov of Russia. In February 2008, Pedraza defended the lightweight national championship in the Torneo Nacional Isaac Barrientos, defeating Reynaldo Cintron in the preliminaries, Erick Vidal in the quarterfinals, Edgardo Rivera in the semifinals and Ken Alvarez in the final. In May 2009, he entered the XII Torneo José "Cheo" Aponte and competed in the light welterweight limit, winning his first contest over Pedro Vicente by stoppage in three rounds. Pedraza won the silver medal, losing to Bernard Lebron in the finals by hit score following a 16:16 tie.

World medalist and regional championship

At the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships, Pedraza debuted by defeating Abdlay Anarbay of Kazakhstan. In his second contest, he defeated Zorigtbaataryn Enkhzorig of Mongolia. In the third date Pedraza defeated Ljubomir Marjanovic of Serbia. A medal was secured with a victory over Serdar Khudayberdiyev of Turkey in the quarterfinals. He advanced winning his contest against Albert Selimov, 9:5. In the finals, he lost a decision to localist Domenico Valentino, winning the silver medal. In December 2009, Pedraza participated in the AIBA Presidents Cup, winning in his debut over Enkhzorig Zorigtbaatar. He lost a 21 decision to Semen Grivachev in the semifinals. An invitation was extended to him and the Arroyo brothers to participate in the World Series of Boxing, but it was declined. In January 2010, Pedraza defended the lightweight national championship in the finals of the Torneo Nacional Isaac Barrientos, defeating Jorge Maysonet, Jr. in the quarterfinals, Jose Davila in the semifinals and Edgardo Lopez in the finals. In April 2010, he defeated Davila in the national team's selection meeting. In May 2010, he entered the XIII Torneo José "Cheo" Aponte, defeating Antonio Ortiz in the semifinals and Davila in the final. He entered the 2010 Copa Olimpica, defeating Antonio Ortiz by points. In June 2010, Pedraza participated in the 2010 Pan-American Championships, debuting with a 14:1 victory over Joan Gonzalez of Venezuela. In the semifinals he defeated Erick Bonez. Pedraza won the silver medal, losing to Yasnier Toledo Lopez in the final. In July he participated in the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, debuting with a 22:7 victory over Angel Gutierrez of Mexico. Pedraza advanced stopping Omar Ward in the second round. He defeated Wellington Arias of the Dominican Republic in the semifinals. Pedraza won the old medal with a 10:2 victory over Cesar Villarraga of Colombia. On December 3, 2010, Pedraza participated in a dual against the United States defeating Duran Caferro, 16:3.

Professional career

Youth World Championship

Pedraza's intention to become a professional was made public on January 3, 2011. A press conference was held a week later, where he signed a contract with three different promoters, Universal Promotions of Puerto Rico, Gary Shaw Productions and DiBella Entertainment, who agreed to co-promote his career. His professional debut was scheduled for February 18, 2011. The opponent was Felix Rivera, who also debuted after compiling an amateur record of 68–5. Pedraza won the contest by technical knockout in the first round, following a combination to the head and body.
The following month he participated in his first contest outside of Puerto Rico, defeating Corben Page in the same manner. On June 10, 2011, Pedraza was included in a boxing card held prior to the Puerto Rican Day Parade, a tradition among the diaspora in New York. The contest was stopped in the first round, following two knockdowns over his opponent, Tomi Archambault. The opponent for his first six-round fight was Pedro Antonio Salcedo. Pedraza outboxed and injured Salcedo several times, earning a unanimous decision, with identical scores of 60-54. Following a short hiatus, he defeated John Wampash by technical knockout in the fourth round. On December 30, 2011, only ten months after his debut, Pedraza participated in his first titular match, challenging for the World Boxing Council's Super Featherweight Youth World Championship. He won by technical knockout in the fifth round, when the referee retired an injured Herbert Quartey from the contest. He headlined Team Puerto Rico's first local card of 2012, "Pa' Bravo Yo", defeating Anthony Woods in the fourth round after his opponent's corner submitted the contest by throwing a towel into the ring.

IBF World Championship

On June 13, 2015 Pedraza captured the vacant International Boxing Federation junior lightweight world championship by defeating Russia's Andrey Klimov via unanimous decision. Pedraza successfully defended his championship twice, against Edner Cherry and Stephen Smith.
In 2017, he lost the IBF title to Gervonta Davis.

Career at Lightweight

On October 30, 2017, it was announced that Pedraza was now being managed by Victory Sports. It was also announced that Pedraza would now campaign in the lightweight division. On March 2, Top Rank announced they had signed Pedraza to a multi-fight promotional agreement.
March 17, Pedraza made his lightweight and Top Rank debut at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, outpointing Jose Luis Rodriguez.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
30Win27–3 Mikkel LesPierreUD10Jul 2, 2020Paradise, Nevada, U.S..png" />
29Loss26–3 Jose ZepedaUD10Sep 14, 2019 T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
28Win26–2 Antonio Lozada Jr.TKO9, 2:34May 25, 2019 Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida, U.S.
27Loss25–2 Vasyl LomachenkoUD12Dec 8, 2018 Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.Lost WBO lightweight title;
For WBA and The Ring lightweight titles
26Win25–1 Raymundo BeltránUD12Aug 25, 2018 Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona, U.S.Won WBO lightweight title
25Win24–1 Antonio MoránUD10Jun 9, 2018 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
24Win23–1 José Luis RodríguezUD8Mar 17, 2018 Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.
23Loss22–1 Gervonta DavisTKO7, 2:36Jan 14, 2017 Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.Lost IBF super featherweight title
22Win22–0 Stephen SmithUD12Apr 16, 2016 Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.Retained IBF super featherweight title
21Win21–0 Edner Cherry12Oct 3, 2015 U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.Retained IBF super featherweight title
20Win20–0 Andrey KlimovUD12Jun 13, 2015 Bartow Arena, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.Won vacant IBF super featherweight title
19Win19–0 Michael FarenasUD12Nov 14, 2014Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico.png" />
18Win18–0 Juan Carlos Martinez6, 3:00Aug 15, 2014Santa Ynez, California, U.S..png" />
17Win17–0 Arturo UruzquietaTKO1, 2:19Jun 7, 2014Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S..png" />
16Win16–0 Alberto GarzaUD12Mar 22, 2014Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S..png" />Won IBO super featherweight title
15Win15–0 Alejandro RodriguezKO3, 0:48Oct 26, 2013Cidra, Puerto Rico.png" />
14Win14–0 Gabriel TolmajyanUD10Aug 9, 2013
13Win13–0 Sergio VillanuevaTKO7, 2:59Jun 8, 2013Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.png" />
12Win12–0 Gerardo ZayasTKO1 Feb 23, 2013Ponce, Puerto Rico.png" />
11Win11–0 Tevin FarmerTKO8, 0:47Oct 12, 2012Saint Charles, Missouri, U.S..png" />
10Win10–0 Jose ValderramaUD8Aug 31, 2012Carolina, Puerto Rico.png" />
9Win9–0 Carlos ClaudioUD8Jun 15, 2012Mario 'Quijote' Morales Coliseum, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.png" />
8Win8–0 Gil GarciaUD8Apr 27, 2012
7Win7–0 Anthony WoodsTKO4, 2:30Feb 24, 2014
6Win6–0 Herbert QuarteyTKO5, 1:20Dec 30, 2011 Won vacant WBC Youth super featherweight title
5Win5–0 John Wampash4, 2:11Nov 11, 2011Cohen Stadium, El Paso, Texas, U.S..png" />
4Win4–0 Pedro Antonio Salcedo6Aug 19, 201-Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns, Ponce, Puerto Rico.png" />
3Win3–0 Tomi ArchambaultTKO1, 2:21Jun 10, 2011
2Win2–0 Corben PageTKO1, 2:25Mar 29, 2011
1Win1–0 Felix Rivera1, 1:25Feb 18, 2011