Carlos Iván Velásquez Piri (born August 4, 1984) is a

Puerto Rica Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

n former

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

best known for winning the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

title at the Central American and Caribbean Games 2006 in Cartagena. He is the twin brother of Juan Carlos Velasquez.

Amateur career

Velásquez participated in the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

at the age of 20 at featherweight but lost his first match to Edvaldo Oliveira of Brazil, by decision (43-43;countback). He qualified for the Olympic Games by ending up in second place at the

1st AIBA American 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 1st AIBA American 2004 Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament was held in Tijuana, Mexico from March 12 to March 20, 2004. It was the first chance for amateur boxers from North-, Central- and South America to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympi ...

Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

. At the

2006 Central American and Caribbean Games The 20th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games was held in the city of Cartagena, Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, in ...

, he defeated Marlon Almagro (

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

), upset Olympic champion

Yuriorkis Gamboa Yuriorkis Gamboa Toledano (born 23 December 1981) is a Cuban professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title ( Regular version) from 2009 to 2011, and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight ti ...

10:7 in the semifinals and won Gold against Ronald de la Rosa (

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Professional career

Velásquez turned pro for promoter Luis de Cubas and

Shelly Finkel Sheldon "Shelly" Finkel (born June 27, 1944) is an American boxing and music promoter. Finkel received the Boxing Writers Association of America ''Manager of the Year'' award in 1990 and 1993. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of ...

and won his first 12 fights. On September 14, 2008, he (9-0, 8 KOs) knocked out Jose Navarrete (12-18-2, 5 KOs) at 1:11 of the fifth round of the eighth-rounder. On September 29, 2015, Velasquez fought

Javier Fortuna Javier Fortuna Francisco (born July 15, 1989) is a Dominican professional boxer. The WBA (Regular) super featherweight title from 2015 to 2016, and challenged for the IBF lightweight title in 2018. Early life Fortuna was raised in La Romana, ...

for Fortuna's WBA's world Super Featherweight title in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. In what has ultimately turned out to be his last fight, Velasquez lost by tenth-round technical knockout. Velasquez retired from professional boxing with 19 wins and 2 defeats in 21 contests, 12 wins and both losses being by knockout.

References

External links

* 1984 births Living people People from Cataño, Puerto Rico Featherweight boxers Boxers at the 2003 Pan American Games Olympic boxers for Puerto Rico Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Puerto Rican male boxers Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in boxing Pan American Games boxers for Puerto Rico 21st-century Puerto Rican people 21st-century American sportsmen {{PuertoRico-boxing-bio-stub