Nelson Dieppa-Gerena (born February 25, 1971) is a Puerto Rican professional

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 ...

. As an amateur, he represented Puerto Rico in international events including the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships,

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games, officially known as the XI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Havana 1991 (), were held in Havana, Cuba from 2 to 18 August 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organi ...

and the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. Dieppa debuted as a professional on February 13, 1993, when he defeated Carlos Figueroa. His first world championship fight took place on July 3, 2000, when he lost to Will Grigsby for the

World Boxing Organization The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

's light flyweight championship. Following this fight Grigsby tested positive for illegal drugs and the title was declared vacant. Following this fight the title was won by Masibulele Makepula but was stripped again. He won the vacant title on April 14, 2001, in a fight against Andy Tabanas. Dieppa defended the title successfully five times before losing it to Hugo Cázares on April 30, 2005.

Early life and amateur career

Nelson Dieppa was born and raised in

Vieques, Puerto Rico Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, Culebra barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, Puerto Rico, Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin ...

. He began his boxing career at a young age. As an amateur Dieppa represented Puerto Rico in international competitions, competing in the Light Flyweight division (– 48 kilograms). In 1991 he represented the island in two major international events. The first one was the

World Amateur Boxing Championships IBA World Boxing Championships may refer to: * IBA Men's World Boxing Championships * IBA Women's World Boxing Championships {{Short pages monitor">OlympicGames1992
/ref> These would mark his final participation in an amateur event. Dieppa only participated in one fight in the first round of the Olympic boxing tournament, where he fought against Daniel Petrov. Dieppa lost the fight by points, with a final score of 7-10.

Professional career

Dieppa debuted as a professional on February 13, 1993, when he fought Carlos Figueroa in an event organized at the

Roberto Clemente Coliseum Roberto Clemente Coliseum (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the large ...

. He won the fight by knockout in the first round. His first professional fight in Vieques took place on March 7, 1993, when he knocked out David Almodouvar in the second round. It took Dieppa almost eight months to return to a boxing ring in an official fight. This was his first major lay-off from boxing. He returned, on January 29, 1994, and participated in a boxing card that took place in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, where he defeated Jose Hernandez by unanimous decision. Dieppa's first fight outside of Puerto Rico took place on April 13, 1995, when he fought Hipolito Saucedo, 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 ...

. The contest was scheduled for six rounds and the judges declared it a draw. Following this fight he participated in four fights organized in Ponce and San Juan, winning two by knockout. On June 1, 1996, Dieppa won his first regional professional championship when he defeated Pablo Tiznado in a card that took place in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. In this fight he won the Fecarbox Flyweight championship, a regional title sanctioned by the

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

. During this timeframe Dieppa was trained by Félix Trinidad Sr. and was under contract with

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

. Dieppa won three, non-title bouts in a row, including a unanimous decision in eight rounds against Kenny Berrios on June 7, 1997. His next fight was against Carlos Murillo and was held on February 13, 1998, at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

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. The judges awarded Murillo a split decision victory, marking Dieppa's first professional defeat. On October 3, 1998, he returned to activity in a fight against Orlando Malone. Dieppa won the fight by unanimous decision. He participated in three fights between 1999 and early 2000, winning all of them by knockout. On July 3, 2000, Dieppa had his first world title opportunity. Dieppa fought world champion Will Grigsby for the WBO's world Jr. Flyweight title. Dieppa was declared the winner by unanimous decision at first, but Grigsby tested positive for

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 ...

after the fight. The WBO declared the fight a

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

and Dieppa was stripped of the championship. Masibulele Makepula of South Africa won the vacant championship but the WBO stripped it and declared it vacant.

Winning and defending the WBO title

After winning a preparatory fight, Dieppa would fight against Andy Tabanas for the vacant WBO championship. The fight was organized at the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York City. Dieppa won the fight by knockout in the eleventh round. His first title defense took place on September 29, 2001, where he retained his title with a twelve-round unanimous decision over Fahran Sakkreehrin. The end of the fight with Sakkreehin marked the beginning of Dieppa's managerial problems. During this timeframe Félix Trinidad Sr. retired, leaving Dieppa without a trainer. As a consequence Dieppa spent several months inactive. His next fight took place on August 24, 2002, against John Molina. Defending his WBO Jr. Flyweight title for the second time, Dieppa suffered an injury product of accidental headbutt in the second round, which led to the fight being declared a

technical draw A technical draw is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because a fighter is unable to continue from an accidental injury (usually cuts) or foul. Draws occur when the bout goes to the scorecards, and the officials cannot determin ...

. For the next year and a half, Dieppa had a series of problems, including some injuries and ongoing managerial disputes. The World Boxing Organization considered stripping him of the championship, but decided that Dieppa was unable to defend the title due to matters outside of his control. On March 20, 2004, Dieppa participated in his third title defense, against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

's Kermin Guardia in a fight held at the Mario Morales coliseum, in

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Guaynabo (, ) is a Guaynabo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, east of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayam� ...

. Dieppa won by knockout after one minute and fifty-one seconds of the round had passed. Guardia announced his retirement immediately after the fight. Dieppa's next defense took place on July 30, 2004, in a card organized in

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, where he fought against

Ulises Solís José Ulises Solís Pérez (born 28 August 1981) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2013. He held the IBF junior flyweight title twice in his career from 2006 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2012. He is the brother of fo ...

. Dieppa retained the title by a majority decision, with one of the judges scoring the fight 114-114 while the other two gave scorecards of 120-108 in favor of Dieppa. On January 29, 2005, Dieppa fought against Alex Sánchez in a fight that took place at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, in

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

. Prior to the fight a number of promotional events were organized. Sanchez had an early advantage in the fight, relying on his boxing skills. In the eleventh round Dieppa won by knockout after connecting a solid combination. This fight was named the fight of the year in Puerto Rico by the local boxing commission.

2005-present

On April 30, 2005, Dieppa lost the light flyweight championship against Hugo Cázares. The fight was stopped in the tenth round with Cazares receiving a technical decision victory. On December 17, 2005, Dieppa returned to action versus Juan Alfonso Keb Baas in an event organized in

Fajardo, Puerto Rico Fajardo () is a town and a municipality part of the San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and ...

. Dieppa won by unanimous decision and won the vacant WBC Continental Americas Jr. Flyweight title. On May 26, 2006, Dieppa fought against Eric Ramírez of Mexico. In this fight he focused on using his boxing skills to counter Ramírez's aggressive style. Dieppa received identical scores of 97-92 from the judges. On March 23, 2007, Dieppa lost by divided decision against Daniel Reyes. Following this fight, Dieppa defeated former champion Alex Sanchez, and lost by unanimous decision to Iván Calderón for the WBO's championship.

References

External links