• Facebook: Facebook.com/TopRankGuillermoRigondeaux
• WBA super bantamweight “super” world champion…
• Former WBA super bantamweight world champion, three successful defenses…
• WBO jr. featherweight world champion…
• World championship fights: 4-0, 2 KOs…
• Former WBA interim super bantamweight world champion, one successful defense…
• Interim world title fights: 2-0, 1 KO…
• 2007 Independence Cup (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2006 Nations Cup (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2006 Cuban Olympics International Tournament (amateur), 119 pounds - Gold Medalist...
• 2006 Central American Games (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2005 World Championships (amateur), 119 pounds - Gold Medalist...
• 2005 World Cup (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2005 Pan American Games (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist..
• 2004 Olympics (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2003 Pan American Games (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2002 World Cup (amateur) 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2001 World Championships (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2000 Olympics (amateur) 119 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000 Cuban National Championships (amateur), 119 pounds - Gold Medalist...

At the age of 32, Guillermo is a three-year pro. The WBA and WBO world champion at 122 pounds, he won the WBA title in only his ninth pro fight and has made three successful defenses. When he added the WBO title in his last fight, he became the WBA “Super” world champion at super bantamweight.

He is also a former WBA interim super bantamweight world champion. He won that title in his seventh pro fight in November, 2010, and made one title defense.

Guillermo is coming off an upset 12-round unanimous decision win against Nonito Donaire in his last fight on April 13 - Donaire was a 3 to 1 favorite to win.

Fightwriter.com's Graham Houston reported [excerpts]: Although the crowd at Radio City Music Hall got restless at the tactical nature of the bout, I enjoyed the exhibition of boxing skill put forth by Guillermo Rigondeaux in his unanimous decision victory over Nonito Donaire….

It was a case of “I hit you; you don’t hit me” for round after round. Even when Donaire rocked Rigondeaux with a left hook in the fourth and dropped him with a heavy left hand in the 10^th, I always had the sense that Rigondeaux was in control of the fight. When Rigondeaux suffered the knockdown in the 10^th he kept his composure and didn’t look as if everything was falling apart when he hit the canvas.

This intriguing contest had fans, the boxing trade and the betting fraternity divided. There were those who fancied Donaire strongly, those who liked Rigondeaux’s chances with equal conviction and a third group who just couldn’t form a solid opinion on the fight’s outcome.

The Cuban former amateur great was too smart, too fast, too tricky and too talented. Donaire did his best to close the distance and land his heavy hooks, but Rigondeaux seemed to be anticipating everything, at times causing the Filipino Flash to miss wildly and flounder embarrassingly in the wrong direction.

Several rounds were close, but Rigondeaux seemed to be landing most of the clean, scoring blows, and he just looked so much more comfortable in the fight than did his opponent.

Still, Rigondeaux was, at times, a little too defensive, giving Donaire the chance to steal a couple of rounds just on effort. Rigondeaux’s swollen right eye showed that he didn’t dodge all of Donaire’s jabs and hooks.

Rigondeaux did what I like to see a fighter do by finishing the bout strongly. His biggest round was the 12^th, when he backed up Donaire and half-closed his right eye with a left-hand shot. [End Houston item]

Guillermo worked with former Cuban national team coach, Pedro Diaz, for the first time in the Donaire fight.

Guillermo said through and interpreter, "I worked with Pedro Diaz in Cuba. He's been in boxing way longer than I have - I met him when I was 17. When I moved to La Finca [the live-in training camp for the national team], he was already there. He was one of the coaches for the national team - they have several trainers who work with the whole team. Pedro wasn't my head coach, but he was in my corner as an assistant for several fights – he was there at the 2000 Olympics and the 2001 World Championships. My head coach in Cuba was Rolando Garbey. [note: 1968 Olympic silver medalist, 1974 World Championships gold medalist, and 1967, 1971, and 1975 Pan American Games gold medalist, all at 156 pounds] He's Ramon Garbey's cousin.

"Pedro knows me, he's worked with me. He knows what he needs to bring out of me, all around. That's why I chose to work with him.

"There is always a transition, but based on my personal experience and my career, it’s a little different for me because I’m a seasoned veteran. I’ve been able to change a few things here and there. I haven’t had a problem making necessary adjustments. I think I’ve shown that

"When you come to America from Cuba, basically you come from having nothing to having something. It’s definitely a life-changer and it can happen almost overnight. But you can’t let that alter the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice you always have put into becoming the very best that you can be.

"I keep myself humble. I’m grateful for what I have now. Yes, people can change if they attain fame and money. It can raise issues. It can raise issues if you go from being rich to being poor, too. But whatever life gives you, you have to deal with it and that is especially so for someone in my position. Being a champion means not going wild outside the ring. Being a champion means always retaining your focus.

"One thing is for sure. I will be 100 percent ready when I enter the ring."

Guillermo is a former international amateur standout, a dominant force at the top levels of competition: he was a two-time gold medalist at the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan American Games, and won many other prestigious amateur championships, as well.

He is considered by many observers to be one of the greatest amateur boxers of all-time. There have been others with more accomplishments, but they all had significantly longer amateur careers. Guillermo, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, boxed as an amateur only until the age of 26. He was the clear favorite to win a third Olympic gold medal in 2008 at the age of 28, but was not allowed to compete by the Cuban authorities as punishment for an attempted defection.

Three boxers have won three Olympic gold medals. The first was Laszlo Papp of Hungary, who passed away in 2003. He boxed as an amateur until the age of 30 and won Olympic gold medals at middleweight in 1948 and at light heavyweight in 1952 and 1956. Cuban super heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson fought exclusively as an amateur until he retired in 1986 at the age of 34. He was the super heavyweight gold medalist at the 1972, 1976, and 1980 Olympics, the 1974, 1978, and 1986 World Championships, and the 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games. Cuban heavyweight Felix Savon, who fought exclusively as an amateur until he retired in 2000 at the age of 33, was the heavyweight gold medalist at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympics; the 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1997 World Championships; and the 1987, 1991, and 1995 Pan American Games.

Regarding his nickname - literally “The Jackal” - Guillermo said, “There’s a guy named Don Francisco here who is on Sabado Gigante [“Giant Saturday,” a popular Spanish-language variety show], and there’s a guy named ‘El Chacal,’ and Chacal just eliminates guys. They do like, singing contests on the show and he comes out and gets rid of people. They started calling me that when I got here in the United States.”

Fight by Fight – 2013 – 3^RD WBA SB TITLE DEFENSE, WON WBO JF WORLD TITLE - in his last fight on 4-13-13 in New York, NY, he won a 12 round unanimous decision in a title unification bout against WBO jr. featherweight world champion Nonito Donaire (31-1): the bout headlined at Radio City Music Hall and it was a good, close fight; Guillermo sent Donaire stumbling backwards with a left hand in the 1^st round and swept the round on all three scorecards; the following rounds were close – Donaire pressed forward, but Guillermo boxed and moved well and had the edge in most of them; Donaire won the 2^nd on two scorecards, but Guillermo swept the 3^rd round; Donaire rocked him with a left hook in the 4^th, but Guillermo won the 4^th and 5^th rounds on two scorecards, then swept the 6^th; Donaire won the 7^th round on two scorecards, but Guillermo came back and won the 8^th and 9^th on two scorecards; Donaire scored a knockdown with a left hand from the southpaw stance in the 10^th round, but Guillermo finished the fight strongly; he won the 11^th on two scorecards, then swept the 12^th round – he hurt Donaire with a left hand that swelled Donaire’s right eye, then rocked him with a left uppercut followed by another left hand; the judges scored 115-112, 116-111, 114-113; after the fight, Guillermo said, "Everybody says I was just an amateur, but I was a star as an amateur and I am a star as a pro with 12 fights. I told you I was going to do my job and I did it. The people that know boxing saw that this was a very good fight, it was quality. I made him look the way he looked, which was bad, and I looked great. I used boxing, movement. He's an excellent fighter, a great fighter. But with one punch, you can't win a fight."...

2012 – 2^ND WBA SB WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 9-15-12 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Roberto Marroquin (22-1): the bout was one of the co-features with the Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. main event, and Guillermo dominated most of the fight; Marroquin had a few rallies – he was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads in the 1^st round, but rocked Guillermo with a left hook in the 3^rd and staggered him with another left hook in the 9^th round; but Guillermo consistently outboxed him and lanced the sharper punches; Guillermo scored a knockdown with a left hand when Marruquin’s glove touched the canvas in the 5^th; Guillermo bloodied Marroquin’s nose in the 11^th round, and scored a knockdown with a left hand that dropped him flat on his back in the 12^th; scored 118-108, 118-108, 118-109; due to managerial issues, the bout had not been confirmed until a week earlier; after the fight, Guillermo said, "I didn't sleep the past few days because of so many things happening here - fighting, not fighting."...

1^ST WBA SB WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 6-9-12 in Las Vegas he won by TKO (5^th round) against Teon Kennedy (17-1-2): the fight was one of the co-features with the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Jr. main event, and Guillermo quickly overpowered him; he scored five knockdowns altogether, all with left hands – one in the 1^st round, two in the 2^nd, one in the 4^th round, and one more in the 5^th – and the referee stopped the fight at 1:11; after the fight, Guillermo said, "This is one of my best performances. All of my punches are great. I don't have any bad ones."...

WON WBA SB WORLD TITLE - on 1-20-12 in Las Vegas he won by knockout (6^th round) against previously undefeated defending champion Rico Ramos (20-0): the fight headlined at The Palms, and Guillermo dominated; he scored a knockdown with a left hand in the 1^st round - Ramos went in to a defensive shell after that, threw very few punches, and the crowd booed the lack of action; Guillermo pressed forward and outworked him - he staggered Ramos with a series of left hands in the 6^th round, then scored a knockdown with a left hand to the body and Ramos was counted out at 1:29; after five rounds, Guillermo led by scores of 49-45, 49-45, 50-44…

2011 –   1^ST WBA INTERIM SB WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 3-19-11 in Dublin, IRE, he won by TKO (1^st round) against lefthanded previously undefeated former European super bantamweight champion - and hometown favorite - Willie Casey (11-0): the fight headlined at the City West Hotel, and Guillermo quickly overwhelmed him; he scored three knockdowns in the 1^st round – the first with a left uppercut, the second with a left hand, and the third with a series of punches - and the referee stopped the fight at 2:38; after the fight, Guillermo said, “I came to his territory to show I can fight.”…

2010 – WON WBA INTERIM SB WORLD TITLE - on 11-13-10 in Arlington, TX, he won a 12 round split decision against former WBA interim super bantamweight world champion Ricardo Cordoba (37-2-2): the fight was co-featured with the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito main event at Cowboys Stadium; Cordoba pressed forward, and Guillermo fought very defensively – he boxed and moved well, but the crowd booed the lack of action; Guillermo scored a knockdown with a left hand to the body in the 4^th round, but Cordoba came back and scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 6^th when Guillermo’s glove touched the canvas – it was the first time he had been knocked down as an amateur or pro; Guillermo finished the fight strongly – he won the 10^th and 11^th rounds on two scorecards, then swept the 12^th on all three, and won by scores of 114-112, 117-109 Rigondeaux, 114-112 Cordoba; after the fight, Guillermo said, “I trained very hard for this fight. I was prepared for 12 rounds. It was my first title fight and I was ready. I gave him a boxing lesson - I thought I won every round. It was an easy fight. On the knockdown, I slipped.”…

On 8-21-10 in Tijuana, MX, he won by TKO (6^th round) against Jose Angel Beranza (33-18-2): the fight was co-featured with the Joksan Hernandez-Ira Terry main event, and Guillermo dominated; he consistently outboxed and outworked Beranza, and scored two knockdowns in the 4^th round; Guillermo rocked Beranza several more times in the 5^th and 6^th rounds, and Beranza did not continue after the 6^th round…

On 2-5-10 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, he won by knockout (1^st round) against Adolfo Landeros (20-12-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Ed Paredes-Joey Hernandez main event; Guillermo scored a knockdown with a left hand to the body in the 1^st round, and Landeros was counted out at 0:28...

2009 - on 12-16-09 in New York, NY, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Lante Addy (6-4-1): the fight headlined at B.B King’s Blues Club and Guillermo dominated; he scored a knockdown with a left hand in the 1^st round, and Addy fought very cautiously after that; Guillermo consistently outworked him, landed the harder punches, and won by scores of 80-71, 80-71, 79-72; after the fight, Guillermo said, “The bout was not difficult for me. It’s just hard to knock someone out when they refuse to engage.”...

On 9-18-09 in Miami, FL, he won by TKO (3^rd round) against 39 year-old Giovani Andrade (51-11): the fight headlined at the Fountainbleau and Guillermo dominated; he scored a knockdown with a right hook that dropped Andrade to one knee in the 2^nd round; he scored another knockdown with a left hand to the body that dropped Andrade to one knee in the 3^rd – he got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:53...

On 7-17-09 in Las Vegas he won by TKO (1^st round) against Robert Guillen (4-2-2): the fight was on the undercard of the Miguel Vazquez-Breidis Prescott main event; Guillermo scored a knockdown with a left hand to the body in the 1^st round and Guillen was counted out at 2:57...

He debuted at the age of 28 on 5-22-09 in Miami Beach, FL, and won by TKO (3^rd round) against Juan Noriega (3-2): Guillermo dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown with a left hand early in the 1^st round; he rocked Noriega repeatedly in the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:09 of the 3^rd; after the fight, Guillermo said, “It was a quick fight. I came and did what I had to do. I’ve fought so many times as an amateur that I feel like I’m a professional already. I’ve always had the pro style. In a few fights, I'll be ready for a title shot. I came here to be a world champion and I don’t have a doubt in my mind I will be a world champion. Let’s see if I’m as good as everybody says I am.”...

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Guillermo said through an interpreter, “I was born in La Prueba, a little town in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. I lived my whole life on a farm. We grew coffee. I have eight brothers and sisters, and my father is a farm worker. They still live in Cuba. My mother passed away after I left for Miami.

“I started boxing when I was 13. I’m the only boxer in my family. I thought I could fight and I wanted to do it, so I got involved. I went to the gym on my own one day. I’m naturally lefthanded.

“I had 475 amateur fights, with 12 losses. I lived in the Cuban national training camp for nine years. I moved there when I was 17. [the Cuban training camp for the national boxing team in Havana is called “La Finca” – “The Farm”]

“I’m married. My wife’s name is Farah Colina Rigondeaux. We have a son, Guillermo Rigondeaux Junior, who is 11 years old and I also have a stepson, Julio Cesar Rigondeaux, who is 20. I raised him since he was four years old.”...

From the Associated Press [Feb. 24, 2009 - excerpts]: Former Olympic boxing champion Guillermo Rigondeaux defected to the United States, 18 months after he was kicked off the Cuba team as punishment for a previous defection attempt.

Farah Colina said Tuesday her husband had no choice but to flee Cuba if he wanted to box again.

“I’m surprised on one level because he left home at the end of January saying he was going to Santiago,” Colina said, referring to the eastern city that is Cuba’s second largest. “But, on another level, I think he was obligated to do this.”

Colina said her husband called a neighbor Saturday to say he made it to Miami. The family does not have a phone. She declined to describe his journey to the U.S., but said he sounded happy and nervous on the phone.

She spoke from her home in Havana’s Boyeros district that she shared with Rigondeaux, the couple’s 7-year-old son and her 17-year-old boy whom the boxer raised as his stepson.

Rigondeaux hoped to try for a third Olympic title at last summer’s Beijing Games. But in July 2007 he and 2005 welterweight world champion Erislandy Lara disappeared during the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. Both were accused of overstaying their visas, arrested and sent back to the island.

Rigondeaux and Lara insisted they never intended to defect, but a German promoter said they signed pro contracts. Fidel Castro wrote in an essay after their return to Cuba that the pair had “reached the point of no return” with the national boxing team. Lara defected to the U.S. last year.

In an interview with The Associated Press in August, Rigondeaux insisted he deserved a second chance to box for Cuba. His wife said that after her husband returned to Cuba, Rigondeaux trained for months but became increasingly depressed.

“He always thought they would give him another chance,” Colina said. “Those were very hard moments and nobody came to even offer him a job.” [End AP item]

INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:

2007 PAN AMERICAN GAMES - Rio de Janiero, Brazil, 119 pounds: on 7-20-07 he he won a 12-4 decision against Manuel Marrero of Puerto Rico; on 7-22-07 he lost by walkover against Carlos Cuadra of Mexico...

2007 GIRALDO CORDOVA CARDIN INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT - Santa Clara, Cuba, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals on 5-25-07 he won a 17-4 decision against Albert Portuhondo of Cuba; in the semifinals on 5-28-07 he won an 11-8 decision against Claudio Marrero of Dominican Republic; in the finals on 5-30-07 he won a 6-4 decision against Yankiel Leon of Cuba...

2007 PAN AMERICAN QUALIFIER - San Juan de los Morro, Venezuela, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals on 5-1-07 he won a 5-0 decision against Hector Manzanilla of Venezuela; in the semifinals on 5-6-07 he stopped Pedro Blanco of Venezuela in the 2^nd round; in the finals on 5-9-07 he stopped Albert Gonzalez of Venezuela in the 3^rd round...

2007 INDEPENDENCE CUP - Santiago, Dominican Republic, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals on 2-23-07 he stopped Julio Perez of Dominican Republic in the 3^rd round; in the semifinals on 2-25-07 he won a 26-10 decision against Robson Conceicao of Brazil;  in the finals on 2-27-07 he won a 26-11 decision against McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico...

2006 NATIONS CUP - Baku, Azerbaijan, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 10-15-06 he won a 28-10 decision against Mirzhan Rakhimzhanov of Kazakhstan; in the quarterfinals on 10-17-06 he won a 21-17 decision against Rau’shee Warren of the United States; in the semifinals on 10-19-06 he won by walkover against Elshad Guliyev of Azerbaijan; in the finals on 10-21-06 he stopped Ali Aliyev of Russia in the 3^rd round...

2006 CUBAN OLYMPICS INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT - Havana, Cuba, 119 pounds  - GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 5-1-06 he won a 10-7 decision against Jun Tan of China; in the quarterfinals on 5-3-06 he won a 18-10 decision against Ariel Maturel of Cuba; in the semifinals on 5-5-06 he won a 20-8 decision against Gu Yu of China; in the finals on 5-6-06 he won a 21-9 decision against Hector Manzanilla of Venezuela...

2006 CENTRAL AMERICAN GAMES - Cartagena, Colombia, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals on 7-21-06 he won a 10-1 decision against Juan Velasquez of Puerto Rico; in the semifinals on 7-24-06 he won by walkover against Jhonathan Romero of Colombia; in the finals on 7-17-06 he won a 14-3 decision against Jose Santos of Mexico...

2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - Mianyang, China, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight 11-16-05 he stopped Vladislav Sokolov of Latvia in the 2^nd round; in his second fight on 11-17-05 he stopped Ougonchulun Batkhuu of Mongolia; in the quarterfinals on 11-18-05 he stopped Bahodirjon Sultonov of Uzbekistan in the 3^rd round; in the semifinals on 11-19-05 he won a 37-23 decision against Ali Hallab of France; in the finals on 11-20-05 he won a 19-9 decision against Rustamhodza Rachimov of Germany...

2005 WORLD CUP - Moscow, Russia, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 7-12-05 he won a 34-16 decision against Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand; in the quarterfinals on 7-13-05 he won a 28-11 decision against Zsolt Bedak of Romania; in the semifinals on 7-16-05 he won a 34-7 decision against Murat Aiyrmasov of Kazakhstan; in the finals on 7-17-05 he won a 37-21 decision against Maksim Khalikov of Russia...

2005 PAN AMERICAN GAMES - Teresopolis, Brazil, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals on 9-28-05 he won a 16-7 decision against Arturo Santos of Mexico; in the semifinals on 9-30-05 he won a 10-0 decision against John Wampash of Ecuador; in the finals on 10-2-05 he stopped Alex de Oliviera of Brazil in the 3^rd round...

2004 OLYMPICS - Athens, Greece, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 8-17-04 he won a 21-7 decision against Liu Yuan of China; in his second fight on 8-20-04 he stopped Mehar Ullah of Pakistan in the 3^rd round; in the quarterfinals on 8-23-04 he won a 20-5 decision against Gennady Kovalev of Russia; in the semifinals on 8-27-04 he won a 27-13 decision against Bahodirjon Sultonov of Uzbekistan; in the finals on 8-20-04 he won a 22-13 decision against Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand...

2003 PAN AMERICAN GAMES - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight he won a 17-2 decision against Argenis Mendez of Dominican Republic; in the quarterfinals he stopped Alexander Espinoza of Venezuela in the 2^nd round; in the semifinals he won a 22-2 decision against Andrew Kooner of Canada; in the finals he won a 17-7 decision against Abner Mares of Mexico...

2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - Bangkok, Thailand, 119 pounds: in his first fight he won a 15-1 decision against Andrzej Liczik of Poland; in his second fight he lost a 16-13 decision against Agasi Mamedov of Russia...

2002 WORLD CUP - Astana, Kazakhstan, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 6-4-02 he stopped Justin Kane of Australia in the 1^st round; in the quarterfinals on 6-5-02 he stopped Keren Gurgen of Turkey in the 1^st round; in the semifinals on 6-7-02 he won a 13-2 decision against Chotipat Wongprates of Thailand; in the finas on 6-8-02 he won a 7-6 decision against Toljen Kanatov of Kazakhstan...

2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - Belfast, Northern Ireland, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight he stopped Kazumasa Tsujimoto of Japan in the 2^nd round; in his second fight he stopped Reidar Walstad of Norway in the 2^nd round; in the quarterfinals he won a 24-8 decision against Artur Mikaelian of Greece; in the semifinals he won a 15-6 decision against Sergey Danilchenko of Ukraine; in the finals he won a 30-24 decision against Agasi Mamedov of Russia...

2000 OLYMPICS - Sydney Australia, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 9-16-00 he stopped Moez Zemzemi of Tunisia in the 1^st round; in his second fight on 9-21-00 he stopped Kazumasa Tsujimoto of Japan in the 3^rd round; in the quarterfinals on 9-26-00 he won a 14-5 decision against Agasi Agaguloglu of Turkey; in the semifinals on 9-28-00 he won an 18-6 decision against Clarence Vinson of the U.S.; in the finals on 9-30-00 he won an 18-12 decision against Raimkul Malakhbekov of Russia...

NATIONAL AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:

2006 CUBAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - Bayamo, Cuba, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 1-26-06 he won a 13-2 decision against Yumaikel Aguilar; in his second fight on 1-27-06 he won a 26-1 decision against Yoelvis Gamboa (the younger brother of Yuriorkis Gamboa); in the quarterfinals on 1-29-06 he won a 19-2 decision against Eldris Terrero; in the semifinals on 1-31-06 he won an 11-8 decision against Yankiel Alarcon; in the finals on 2-2-06 he won a 7-4 decision against Idel Torriente...

2005 CUBAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - Pinar del Rio, Cuba, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals on 1-26-05 he won a 5-2 decision against Idel Torriente; in the semifinals on 1-28-05 he won a 9-4 decision against Yankiel Leon Alarcon; in the finals on 1-30-05 he won a 12-3 decision against Oxieris Hernandez...

2004 CUBAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - Camaguey, Cuba, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight he won a 22-5 decision against Erioldi Nicot; in the quarterfinals he stopped Rodolfo Perez in the 3^rd round; in the semifinals he won a 12-2 decision against Endry Guibert Robles; in the finals he stopped Reimi Castellano in the 3^rd round...

2003 CUBAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - Holguin, Cuba, – 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 1-24-03 he stopped Yordenis Santos in the 1^st round; in his second fight on 1-25-03 he stopped Landi Cabilla in the 2^nd round; in the quarterfinals on 1-26-03 he won an 18-3 decision against Ariel Maturel; in the semifinals on 1-28-03 he stopped Eugenio Fonseca Salgado in the 4^th round; in the finals on 1-30-03 he won an 11-3 decision against Luis Franco...

2002 CUBAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - Las Tunas, Cuba, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 1-23-02 he won an 11-2 decision against Lazaro Rodriguez; in his second fight on 1-24-02 he won an 11-1 decision against Roelkis Herrera; in the quarterfinals on 1-26-02 he won an 18-4 decision against Yudandi Yaki Perez; in the semifinals on 1-27-02 he won a 3-0 decision against Lester Diaz; in the finals on 1-30-02 he won a 7-1 decision against Eugenio Fonseca Delgado...

2001 CUBAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Santiago de Cuba, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 1-22-01 he stopped Yosvany Bidot Vega in the 2^nd round; in his second fight on 1-23-01 he stopped Yusbel Melgarejo in the 2^nd round; in the quarterfinals on 1-25-01 he won a 25-10 decision against A. Barrios Pons; in the semifinals on 1-26-01 he won a 7-1 decision against Eduardo Aces; in the finals on 1-28-01 he stopped Kenier Mesa Castellanos in the 1^st round...

2000 CUBAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - Guantanamo, Cuba, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight he won a 4-0 decision against Eddy Aguilera; in his second fight he won a 3-0 decision against Yudenis Gonzalez; in the quarterfinals he won a 5-2 decision against Hector Barrientos; in the semifinals he won a 12-3 decision against Alexander Jimenez; in the finals he won a 6-0 decision against Puro Pairol...

STRENGTHS: A lefthander with good skills, speed, and movement...a natural counterpuncher...punches in combinations, has good power...physically strong, is always in top condition...had a tremendous amateur background...is experienced against top opposition…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 12 fights...70 total rounds...35 world championship rounds…13 interim world championship rounds…

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 5.8 rounds...

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 66 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 3 (3-0)…8 rounds – 1 (1-0)...