José Antonio Rivera
 | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (February 2016) |
| Jose Antonio Rivera | |
|---|---|
 José Antonio Rivera in October 2007 | |
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Jose Antonio Rivera |
| Nickname(s) | El Gallo |
| Weight(s) |
|
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | April 7, 1973 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 50 |
| Wins | 43 |
| Wins by KO | 25 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
José Antonio Rivera (born April 7, 1973) is an American professional boxer of Puerto Rican descent in the super welterweight (154 lb) division.
He is a former WBA welterweight and super welterweight champion.
Professional career[]
October 1992 marked the date Jose became a professional boxer. From here he fought his way to becoming Massachusetts State Champion twice, the USBA Regional Champion, the IBO World Champion, and the NABA Champion.
On September 13, 2003, in Germany, Jose fought unbeaten European Champion Michel Trabant and walked away with the WBA Welterweight Championship of the World.
On April 2, 2005, in his defense of the WBA title, Jose lost a very close split decision to his challenger Luis Collazo.
On May 6, 2006, Jose would move up a weight class to Junior Middleweight and fight Champion Alejandro Garcia. He managed to knock him down five times and won to become the new WBA Champion.
On January 6, 2007, Jose defended his new WBA title against Travis Simms but lost in a ninth-round TKO (Technical Knock Out).
In October he was KOd by Daniel Santos. He had announced his intention to retire before that fight, and did so.
Jose made a brief one-fight comeback in August 2008, beating Clarence Taylor in an 8-round decision, then retired again after suffering a hand injury. He plans to make a second comeback in his hometown of Worcester, Mass., on May 20, 2011, against Luis Maysonet.
See also[]
External links[]
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- 1973 births
- Boxers from Philadelphia
- Light-middleweight boxers
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts
- World Boxing Association champions
- Welterweight boxers
- World light-middleweight boxing champions
- Puerto Rican male boxers
- American male boxers
- Puerto Rican boxing biography stubs