List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions


In Puerto Rico, boxing is considered a major sport, having produced more amateur and professional world champions than any other sport in its history. Puerto Rico ranks 5th worldwide between countries with most boxing world champions, and is the only place to have champions accredited in all of the current boxing divisions. This number also places the archipelago in the global lead in terms of champions per capita. February 9, 2008 was the first time that boxers from Puerto Rico had held three of the four major welterweights titles when Carlos Quintana defeated Paul Williams to join Miguel Cotto, and Kermit Cintron as champions in the division.
Individually, Puerto Rican world champions have earned numerous achievements. These include, Wilfredo Gómez's record for most defenses in the super bantamweight division and for most successive knockouts by a titleholder. On March 6, 1976, at age 17, Wilfred Benítez became the youngest world champion in the history of the sport. On September 3, 1994, Daniel Jiménez established a world record for the quickest knockout in a championship fight, defeating Harald Geier in 17 seconds. Juan Manuel López is fifth in this category, having defeated César Figueroa in 47 seconds during his first defense. Ossie Ocasio was the first World Boxing Association cruiserweight champion, winning it on February 13, 1982. This accomplishment was mimicked in other organizations: José de Jesús, José Ruíz Matos, John John Molina, Héctor Camacho and Angel "El Loco" Rios did it in their respective divisions in the World Boxing Organization, while Ángel Almena was the first pugilist to win the International Boxing Organization's super flyweight title. On June 7, 2014, Miguel Cotto made history by becoming Puerto Rico's first four-division world champion. In women's boxing, Amanda Serrano was the first IBF super featherweight champion and the first Puerto Rican female boxer to win world titles in five weight classes.

Boxing in Puerto Rico

Boxing was introduced and practiced in a clandestine manner in Puerto Rico while the archipelago was still a Spanish colony. Fights were organized in haciendas among the workers of the sugar and coffee plantations, and the objective was to determine the best fighter among the employees. Following the culmination of the Puerto Rican Campaign and Spanish–American War, American soldiers who were stationed in the main island practiced the sport. During World War I, a championship known as Campeonato Las Casas was held as training for military personnel. Nero Chen, the first Puerto Rican boxer to gain recognition, began his career in these tournaments. The Combat Maneuver Training Center followed this example and organized boxing activities, which they named Los Campeones del Campamento. These were received with enthusiasm by the young recruits. Most of these events were celebrated without restriction due to military jurisdictional limits, although prohibitions were put in place for the civilian population. Illegal matches were organized on the rooftops of residences in Old San Juan, empty terrain's in El Condado and in hippodromes.
By 1924, several young men were being taught to box by Gregario Rosa, a boxer who had won the featherweight championship of the Atlantic Fleet while serving in the Navy. Rosa established "Jack Dempsey Physical Culture and Boxing Club", a gym where he continued instructing more pugilists; however, the local police department would go in and arrest any boxer that participated in a card. At times they were surprised to discover that several members of the law enforcement agencies and government were involved. In one case they discovered a group of police officers, including a colonel, two members of the governor's cabinet, numerous legislators and a judge at an event. The charges were archived; the decision was justified with a statement that said: "How will we have a boxing world champion if we don't let the boys learn how to box?"
is considered among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time
In 1926, a boxing venue was opened in a military facility known as Cuartel de Ballajá; a fight card was organized weekly. Legislator Lorenzo Coballes Gandía redacted a proposal to legalize boxing, which was signed by governor Horace Mann Towner in May 1927. Consequently, the Primera Comisión Atlética de Boxeo was created; this became the first organization dedicated to sanctioned boxing in Puerto Rico. Estadio Universal became the first venue to organize legal boxing cards. The first event featured a fight between Enrique Chaffardet and Al Clemens as the main event, which was declared a draw by the judges. New stadiums were built in Bayamón, Caguas, Mayagüez, Ponce, Aguadilla and San Juan. The first Puerto Rican to win a world championship was Sixto Escobar, who won it on June 26, 1934. During the 1960s and 1970s, there was an increase in the number of pugilists who achieved this recognition. Including Wilfred Benítez who on March 6, 1976, became the youngest world champion in history at 17 years old. This tendency continued during the following two decades, reaching its peak between the 1980s and 1990s. There was a slight decline in the 1990s. Félix Trinidad was Puerto Rico's most notable champion during this period. The 2000s brought another increase, as over a dozen boxers won world championships.
Héctor García, Dommys Delgado Berty, Francisco Varcárcel and José Peñagaricano have served as presidents of the Puerto Rico Boxing Commission. This organization gained more prominence in 1985 when it received full control as the sanctioning body in any professional fight organized in Puerto Rico. In 2000, the commission's regulation was revised to exclude professional wrestling, which up to that point had been under its scope. This was Peñagaricano's first proposal on taking office, since he considered professional wrestling "a spectacle instead of a sport like boxing". During the following decades, the Puerto Rico Boxing Commission became the first governing body to have a female president when Delgado Berty served from 1986 to 1988. It became the first commission to require pre-fight weigh-ins, a measure that was at first criticized, but was later adopted by other boxing organizations. In 2007, David Bernier, then Secretary of Recreation and Sports, approved a new rule in the boxing organization's regulation that prohibited the signing of any pugilist younger than 18 years old as a professional. In 2011, women's boxing saw an increase in popularity, gaining mainstream attention. This was fueled by the championships won by Ada Veléz and Amanda Serrano, as well as Kiria Tapia becoming the first Pan American champion in her division.

List of male world champions

NumberNameDate of first title winDivisionsSuccessful defensesReferences
1Sixto EscobarJune 6, 1934Bantamweight 5
2Carlos OrtizJune 12, 1959Light welterweight 2 and 9
3José TorresMarch 30, 1965Light heavyweight 3
4Ángel EspadaJune 28, 1975Welterweight 1
5Alfredo EscaleraJuly 5, 1975Super featherweight 10
6Samuel SerranoOctober 16, 1976Super featherweight 14
7Wilfred BenítezMarch 6, 1976Light welterweight, welterweight and light middleweight 2, 1 and 2
8Esteban De JesúsMay 8, 1976Lightweight 3
9Wilfredo GómezMay 21, 1977Super bantamweight, featherweight and super featherweight 17, 0 and 0
10Julian SolísAugust 29, 1980Bantamweight 0
11Carlos De LeónNovember 25, 1980Cruiserweight 8
12Ossie OcasioFebruary 13, 1982Cruiserweight 3
13Juan LaporteSeptember 15, 1982Featherweight 2
14Edwin RosarioMay 1, 1983Lightweight and light welterweight 3 and 0
15Héctor CamachoAugust 7, 1983Super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight 1, 2 and 3
16Mark MedalMarch 11, 1984Light middleweight 0
17Harry ArroyoApril 15, 1984Lightweight 2
18Victor CallejasMay 26, 1984Super bantamweight 2
19Carlos SantosNovember 2, 1984Light middleweight 1
20Antonio RiveraAugust 30, 1986Featherweight 0
21Wilfredo VázquezOctober 4, 1987Bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight 1, 9 and 4
22José Ruíz MatosApril 29, 1989Super flyweight 4
23John John MolinaApril 29, 1989Super featherweight 7 and 0
24José de JesúsMay 19, 1989Light flyweight 3
25Juan NazarioApril 4, 1990Lightweight 0
26Orlando FernandezMay 12, 1990Super bantamweight 1
27Rafael del ValleMay 13, 1992Bantamweight 2
28Josué CamachoJuly 31, 1992Light flyweight 1
29Daniel JiménezJune 9, 1993Bantamweight and super bantamweight 4 and 0
30Félix TrinidadJune 19, 1993Welterweight and light middleweight and middleweight 17, 2 and 0
31Kevin KelleyDecember 4, 1993Featherweight 7
32Alex SánchezDecember 22, 1993Minimumweight 6
33Jake RodríguezFebruary 13, 1994Light welterweight 2
34Sammy FuentesSeptember 17, 1994Light welterweight 2
35Frank ToledoJune 9, 1996Featherweight and light middleweight 0
37Lou Del ValleSeptember 20, 1997Light heavyweight 0
38Eric MorelOctober 17, 1998Super flyweight 7 and 0
39Daniel SantosMay 6, 2000Welterweight, light middleweight 2 and 4
40Nelson DieppaJuly 22, 2000Light flyweight 5
41John RuizMarch 3, 2001Heavyweight 4
42Iván CalderónMay 3, 2003Minimumweight and light flyweight 11 and 4
43Manny SiacaMay 5, 2004Super middleweight 0
44Miguel CottoSeptember 11, 2004Light welterweight, welterweight light middleweight & Middleweight 5, 5, 2 and 1
45Luis CollazoApril 2, 2005Welterweight 1
46Kermit CintrónOctober 28, 2006Welterweight 2
47Carlos QuintanaFebruary 9, 2008Welterweight 0
48Juan Manuel LópezJune 7, 2008Super bantamweight and featherweight 5 and 2
49Román MartínezMarch 14, 2009Super featherweight 2
50José LópezMarch 28, 2009Super flyweight 0
51Wilfredo Vázquez, Jr.February 27, 2010Super bantamweight 2
52Danny García♦July 30, 2010Light welterweight and welterweight 5
53Rico RamosJuly 9, 2011Super bantamweight 0
54José Pedraza♦March 22, 2014Super featherweight 2
55McJoe ArroyoJuly 18, 2015Super flyweight 0
56Jason SosaJune 24, 2016Super featherweight 0
57Alberto MachadoOctober 21, 2017Super featherweight 0
58Ángel AcostaDecember 2, 2017Light flyweight 0
59Emmanuel RodríguezMay 5, 2018Bantamweight 0

List of female world champions

NumberNameDate of first title winDivisionsSuccessful defensesReferences
1Melissa Del ValleSeptember 12, 1998Super featherweight and super bantamweight 1, 0 and 0
2Ada VélezJanuary 19, 2001Bantamweight and super bantamweight 1 and 1
3Melissa HernándezNovember 4, 2006Super batamweight, super featherweight and featherweight 0, 0, 0 and 0
4Amanda SerranoSeptember 10, 2011Super featherweight, lightweight, featherweight and junior featherweight 0, 0, 1 and 0

Current titleholders

Men

World champions

Women

International Boxing Hall of Fame

Footnotes

Men's titlists

Women's titlists