Carlos Santos
Encyclopedia
Carlos Santos is a former boxer
from Puerto Rico
, who represented his native country as an amateur at the 1976 Summer Olympics
in Montreal, Canada. There he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Santos was involved both in the first and the fourth world title bouts involving two Puerto Rican boxers in history. It has been suggested that Santos was not born in Ceiba but in the San Juan
area named "Santurce", but it is widely believed that Santos is a Ceiba native.
victory in his third fight, when he beat Juan Polanco in the third round on May 21, 1977.
Santos' first fight abroad came on November 4 of that year, when he beat Mario Valoy by a third round knockout in Panama City, Panama. On April 8, 1978, he knocked Collantes out in the fifth round of their rematch.
After three more wins in Puerto Rico
, Santos had a fight in the Dominican Republic
, where he beat Mario Ramos by a knockout in the eighth round, on April 2, 1979. On his very next fight, Santos outpointed Felix Pagan Pintor, future trainer of Wilfredo Gómez
, over ten rounds.
After beating Kid Flash by a third round knockout on December 1 of that year in St. Thomas
, United States Virgin Islands
, Santos moved temporarily to Italy
, seeking for attention from boxing executives as well as more celebrity than he had in Puerto Rico. On April 4, 1980, Santos made his Europe
an debut by knocking out Charles Petersen in the second round at Milan. Santos won seven fights in Italy, all of them by knockout. One curious fight happened on December 20 of 1980 in Turin: Santos was credited with beating Alfonso Hayman, a fringe contender of the era, in the first round. Hayman was under a medical suspension in Italy at the time, however, having been knocked out only eight days before Santos' fight, so his opponent that night is listed on his record as an "unknown opponent".
Carlos Santos made his United States
debut on May 23, 1981, day in which Wilfred Benitez
became the first Hispanic
to be a three division world champion in history, when he knocked Raul Aguirre out in the fifth round as part of the Benitez-Hope
fight's undercard.
Santos was 22-0 with 16 knockouts when he received his first world title shot. On November 14 of '81, he and Benitez made history by staging the first world championship bout between two Puerto Ricans, when they boxed in Las Vegas, Nevada
. Benitez defeated Santos by a fifteen round unanimous decision, retaining the WBC
world Jr. Middleweight title in an HBO Boxing
-televised bout.
Having lost his condition as an undefeated boxer, Santos returned to Italy, where he won four more bouts, three of them by knockout. After winning four additional fights, Santos had a second chance at becoming world champion. When he faced Mark Medal
, a New York native who is also Puerto Rican, Santos became the first Puerto Rican boxer to face two Puerto Ricans in world championship fights. On November 2, 1984, at New York's Madison Square Garden
and with Gómez among his fans, Santos dropped Medal in the first round, recuperated himself from a fourteenth round knockdown and became the IBF
world Jr. Middleweight champion by beating Medal with a fifteen round unanimous decision.
Santos retained the title on his first defense, outpointing Louis Acaries over 15 rounds on June 1, 1985 in Paris, France. A proposed second defense against Davey Moore was within days of taking place; Moore got injured and the fight never took place. Santos had to await little more than one year for his next fight.
On June 4, 1986, Santos defended his title for the second time, against Buster Drayton
in East Rutherford, New Jersey
. Santos lost the title by a fifteen round majority decision.
On September 6, Santos was scheduled to meet another Jr. Middleweight. For an unknown reason, his rival did not show up,. The boxing undercard was being televised live across Puerto Rico, and a Heavyweight boxer, Melvin Epps, was brought in as a substitute. Santos, giving Epps more than 40 pounds and a considerable difference in height advantage, won the fight by a first round knockout. On his next fight, Santos faced former world Welterweight champion Donald Curry
for the USBA
's regional Jr. Middleweight title at the Caesars Palace
on the Las Vegas Strip
. Santos was disqualified in the fifth round of his last major fight.
Santos won his last six fights, one of them in Casablanca, Morocco. On October 30, 1991, he beat Brinatty Maquilon by a ten round decision in San Juan, announcing his retirement after that bout.
Carlos Santos had 40 wins and 3 losses in 43 fights, with 27 wins by knockout. He never lost a fight by knockout himself.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
from Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, who represented his native country as an amateur at the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
in Montreal, Canada. There he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Santos was involved both in the first and the fourth world title bouts involving two Puerto Rican boxers in history. It has been suggested that Santos was not born in Ceiba but in the San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
area named "Santurce", but it is widely believed that Santos is a Ceiba native.
Boxing career
Carlos Santos debuted as a professional boxer on November 11, 1976, outpointing José Collantes over four rounds in San Juan. He obtained his first knockoutKnockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
victory in his third fight, when he beat Juan Polanco in the third round on May 21, 1977.
Santos' first fight abroad came on November 4 of that year, when he beat Mario Valoy by a third round knockout in Panama City, Panama. On April 8, 1978, he knocked Collantes out in the fifth round of their rematch.
After three more wins in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Santos had a fight in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, where he beat Mario Ramos by a knockout in the eighth round, on April 2, 1979. On his very next fight, Santos outpointed Felix Pagan Pintor, future trainer of Wilfredo Gómez
Wilfredo Gómez
Wilfredo Gómez , sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gómez, is a former boxer and three time world champion.-Biography:...
, over ten rounds.
After beating Kid Flash by a third round knockout on December 1 of that year in St. Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
, United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
, Santos moved temporarily to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, seeking for attention from boxing executives as well as more celebrity than he had in Puerto Rico. On April 4, 1980, Santos made his Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an debut by knocking out Charles Petersen in the second round at Milan. Santos won seven fights in Italy, all of them by knockout. One curious fight happened on December 20 of 1980 in Turin: Santos was credited with beating Alfonso Hayman, a fringe contender of the era, in the first round. Hayman was under a medical suspension in Italy at the time, however, having been knocked out only eight days before Santos' fight, so his opponent that night is listed on his record as an "unknown opponent".
Carlos Santos made his United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
debut on May 23, 1981, day in which Wilfred Benitez
Wilfred Benitez
Wilfred Benítez , is a Puerto Rican boxer. He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history at the age of 17...
became the first Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
to be a three division world champion in history, when he knocked Raul Aguirre out in the fifth round as part of the Benitez-Hope
Maurice Hope
Maurice Hope is a former boxer from England, who was world Jr. Middleweight champion. Hope lived in Hackney most of his life, but now lives in his place of birth, Antigua. He represented Great Britain at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.- Biography :Maurice Hope moved at a very...
fight's undercard.
Santos was 22-0 with 16 knockouts when he received his first world title shot. On November 14 of '81, he and Benitez made history by staging the first world championship bout between two Puerto Ricans, when they boxed in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Benitez defeated Santos by a fifteen round unanimous decision, retaining the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
world Jr. Middleweight title in an HBO Boxing
HBO Boxing
HBO World Championship Boxing is a sports television series, premiering in January 1973 that has shown a number of significant boxing events in the last three decades....
-televised bout.
Having lost his condition as an undefeated boxer, Santos returned to Italy, where he won four more bouts, three of them by knockout. After winning four additional fights, Santos had a second chance at becoming world champion. When he faced Mark Medal
Mark Medal
Mark Medal , was a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.Medal, a Puerto Rican-American, turned pro in 1979 and won the Vacant IBF Light Middleweight Title with a TKO win over Earl Hargrove in 1984, becoming the inaugural champion. He lost the belt in his first defense to Carlos...
, a New York native who is also Puerto Rican, Santos became the first Puerto Rican boxer to face two Puerto Ricans in world championship fights. On November 2, 1984, at New York's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
and with Gómez among his fans, Santos dropped Medal in the first round, recuperated himself from a fourteenth round knockdown and became the IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
world Jr. Middleweight champion by beating Medal with a fifteen round unanimous decision.
Santos retained the title on his first defense, outpointing Louis Acaries over 15 rounds on June 1, 1985 in Paris, France. A proposed second defense against Davey Moore was within days of taking place; Moore got injured and the fight never took place. Santos had to await little more than one year for his next fight.
On June 4, 1986, Santos defended his title for the second time, against Buster Drayton
Buster Drayton
Buster Drayton , was a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.Drayton turned pro in 1978 and won the Vacant IBF Light Middleweight Title with a decision win over Carlos Santos in 1986. He defended the belt twice before losing it to Matthew Hilton the following year...
in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
. Santos lost the title by a fifteen round majority decision.
On September 6, Santos was scheduled to meet another Jr. Middleweight. For an unknown reason, his rival did not show up,. The boxing undercard was being televised live across Puerto Rico, and a Heavyweight boxer, Melvin Epps, was brought in as a substitute. Santos, giving Epps more than 40 pounds and a considerable difference in height advantage, won the fight by a first round knockout. On his next fight, Santos faced former world Welterweight champion Donald Curry
Donald Curry
Donald Curry is a retired boxer from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Nicknamed the "Lone Star Cobra," Curry was the Undisputed World Welterweight Champion and the WBC Super Welterweight Champion.-Amateur career:...
for the USBA
USBA
USBA may refer to:* United States Basketball Academy* United States Boxing Association, the predecessor of the International Boxing Federation* United States Boomerang Association* United States Bicycle Motocross Association...
's regional Jr. Middleweight title at the Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. Santos was disqualified in the fifth round of his last major fight.
Santos won his last six fights, one of them in Casablanca, Morocco. On October 30, 1991, he beat Brinatty Maquilon by a ten round decision in San Juan, announcing his retirement after that bout.
Carlos Santos had 40 wins and 3 losses in 43 fights, with 27 wins by knockout. He never lost a fight by knockout himself.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions