|
Former World Boxing Federation
(WBF) World Middleweight
Champion Joaquin Velasquez,
full name Joaquin Velasquez
Amador, was born on August 21,
1962 in Santiago de los
Caballeros, the second largest
city in the Dominican Republic.
He grew up to be a talented
boxer, who fought a long line of
some of the biggest names in the
sport, but some would say that
had he had a stronger, more
influential team behind him he
would have achieved much more
than he did.
Between his debut in September
of 1984 and his final fight
almost fourteen years later, he
traded punches with the likes of
Gianfranco Rossi, Milton
McCrory, John David Jackson,
Charles Brewer, Howard Davis
Jr., William Joppy, Steve
Little, Terry Norris and Julio
Cesar Green.
All former or future world
champions, or top-class
contenders at the time, and
Velasquez proved that he could
compete at that level, even in
defeat.
In his first six outings, inside
six months, Velasquez beat
nondescript opposition, five
inside the distance, before
stepping up in competition with
a ten-round unanimous decision
over rugged compatriot Jose
Vallejo (6-10) in April of 1985
in Santo Domingo.
In 1986 he migrated to Italy,
where eleven of his next
thirteen fights took place, in
addition to one appearance in
Monaco and one in Switzerland.
Taking on all comers, he quickly
made a name for himself as a
reliable and capable fighter.
Velasquez lost decisions to
future European champion Mauro
Martelli (17-0) and Gianfranco
Rossi (37-2), who would go on to
claim WBC and IBF world titles,
but also scored decent victories
over Marco Cipollino (10-0-2),
Randy Smith (15-8) and Patrick
Boon (10-3-1).
In 1988, with a record of 16-4-1
(9), he decided to try his luck
in “the land of opportunity”,
and made his USA debut on
September 10 at The Palace in
Auburn Hills, Michigan, stopping
Marris Virgil (3-2-1) in one
round on the undercard of George
Foreman vs. Bobby Hitz.
Two months later, at the same
venue, Velasquez made something
of a break-through when he was
matched against former world
champion Milton “Ice Man”
McCrory (33-3-1), from nearby
Detroit and a member of the
world famous Kronk Gym.
McCrory, who had won and
defended the WBC World
Welterweight title four times
before losing it to Donald
Curry, was a clear favorite, so
it was a genuine upset when the
local man was stopped in seven
rounds by the little-known
Dominican.
The victory put Velasquez in a
good position for even bigger
fights and pay-days, but
unfortunately it was not to be.
His biggest triumph so far in
his career was followed by two
years of inactivity, so when he
did finally return there was
little fanfare or attention.
Between November of 1990 and
March of 1996 Velasquez only
fought eight times. He won a few
low-key bouts, but also lost
bigger fights against John David
Jackson (22-0), Charles Brewer
(13-0), Howard Davis Jr.
(33-5-1) and William Joppy
(18-0).
So, while Velasquez was expected
to be competitive, Panama-born
Queens-resident Rafael Williams
(34-16) was expected to win when
they squared off for the vacant
WBF World Middleweight title on
May 17, 1996 in New York City.
Williams had stopped Charles
Brewer, one of the few who had
managed to beat Velasquez inside
the distance, and also held
victories over
former world
champions Ernesto Espana
(WBA),
Darrin Morris
(WBF)
and Canadian
contender Joe Gatti, so
few anticipated that he would
fail in winning the WBF World
crown.
But never the less it was the
underdog who came out on top, as
Velasquez scored a unanimous
decision and unexpectedly became
a world champion at a time in
his career where he appeared to
be on the verge of becoming an
outright journeyman.
Unfortunately his day in the sun
would be short. Velasquez lost a
rematch with Williams two months
later, and would never win
another professional boxing
match. But he did continue to
fight at world class level for a
while longer.
In his final four bouts he lost
on points to Steve Little
(23-14-2) for the IBC World
title, dropped a decision to
fellow former WBF Champion
Godfrey Nyakana (28-2-1), and
was stopped by the exceptional
Terry Norris (45-6) and fellow
countryman Julio Cesar Green
(22-3).
Joaquin
Velasquez finished his
career with a record of 22-15-1
(11).
|
