Angel Manfredy (born October 30, 1974) is a Puerto Rican-American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. Angel Manfredy was a popular fighter in the late 1990s.

Personal

Manfredy, nicknamed ''El Diablo'' (''The Devil'') because of his reckless lifestyle and of his boxing style converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

after trying to commit suicide in his bed while on

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. He wears a tattoo of the Puerto Rican Flag on his shoulder. Also he has a tattoo of the cross and a naked lady.

Amateur career

Manfredy had an amateur record of 48–8.

Professional career

Manfredy was known for his walk-ins to his matches wearing a latex mask depicting

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

, which he used until his fight with Floyd Mayweather and conversion to Apostolic Pentecostalism. During his career, Manfredy defeated notable fighters, such as

Arturo Gatti Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was a Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight class (boxing), weight classes, Gatti held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightwei ...

(by technical

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

), Ivan Robinson (by

), Jorge Páez, and Julio Díaz (by a split decision). He also fought notables

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...

, Paul Spadafora and

Diego Corrales Diego "Chico" Corrales Jr. (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007. He was a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) s ...

. A frequent contender, Manfredy was a former WBU Super Featherweight champion, but lost in each of four attempts to capture a World Title. Manfredy currently has a record of 43-8-1 (32 knockouts). Manfredy lost two of his first five fights, but then won 23 in a row, including wins over former champions such as Calvin Grove, and Jorge Páez, and top contenders such as Wilson Rodriguez, before landing his first major fight against Gatti, in the latter's hometown of Atlantic City. Manfredy, who was an underdog, dominated the fight, knocking Gatti down in the third round, and eventually stopping him on cuts in round 8. Following this fight, Manfredy fought twice before fighting

in a major

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

television event. Manfredy was stopped in the second round after a barrage of punches. Manfredy called the stoppage premature and stated he was not injured. This was one of Manfredy's first fights in his new Christian personality, and celebrated having

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

appear at the match singing for him during his walk-in. Following this fight, Manfredy knocked out Ivan Robinson in what had been HBO's Boxing After Dark's highest-rated show of 1999. Manfredy then received another world title shot against Stevie Johnston in 1999, but was thoroughly outboxed. In 2002 Manfredy challenged Paul Spadafora for the

International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts. The others are the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing C ...

World lightweight title. Spadafora beat Manfredy in a close decision. Manfredy last fought in 2004.

Training and Promoting

In 2017 Manfredy took a position as a trainer and promoter in

Crown Point, Indiana Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,884 per the 2023 American Community Survey. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became ...

in a gym owned by boxer Ricky Carr. As of 2023 Manfredy has been teaching boxing as a personal trainer. He currently trains his clients at Premier Mixed Martial Arts in Schereville.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manfredy, Angel 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana American boxers of Latin American descent Boxers from Indiana Puerto Rican boxers Converts to Christianity Lightweight boxers