Carlos Iván Velásquez (born August 4, 1984, in

Cataño, Puerto Rico Cataño () is a town and municipality located on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, bordering the San Juan Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, and adjacent to the north and east by San Juan; north of Bayamón and Guaynabo; east of Toa Baja and w ...

) is a Puerto Rican former boxer 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, this ...

title at the 20.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 ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

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 ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

. 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. The tournament began on July 15 and ended on July 30. Host city *Main host city **Cartagena de Indias *Subsites: **Barranquilla, Colombia ( ...

, he defeated Marlon Almagro (

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

), upset Olympic champion Yuriorkis Gamboa 10:7 in the semifinals and won Gold against Ronald de la Rosa (

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

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 manager and promoter. Finkel received the Boxing Writers Association of America ''Manager of the Year'' award in 1990 and 1993. He was inducted into the International ...

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

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

. 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

Central American games
* 1984 births Living people People from Cataño, Puerto Rico Featherweight boxers Boxers at the 2003 Pan American Games Olympic boxers of 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 competitors for Puerto Rico 21st-century Puerto Rican people {{PuertoRico-boxing-bio-stub