Carlos de León
Carlos de León | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Real name | Carlos de León |
Nickname(s) | Sugar |
Rated at | Cruiserweight |
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Nationality | Puerto Rican |
Born |
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico | May 3, 1959
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 61 |
Wins | 52 |
Wins by KO | 32 |
Losses | 8 |
Draws | 1 |
Carlos de León, also known as "Sugar" de Leon, (born May 3, 1959) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who made history by becoming the first Cruiserweight to win the world title twice. Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as Cruiserweight champion by regaining it twice more.
Career
De León, a native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, first won a world title when faced with WBC world champion Marvin Camel on November 25, 1980, at the undercard of Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán's second fight in New Orleans. De León outpointed Camel over 15 rounds. After he knocked out Camel in 8 in a rematch, countryman Ossie Ocasio won the WBA world title, becoming the second pair of Puerto Ricans to share world titles in the same division at the same time, after Alfredo Escalera and Samuel Serrano had achieved the feat in the 1970s at Jr. Lightweight. De León lost his title in a shocking upset to former Gerry Cooney victim S. T. Gordon by a knockout in round 2 at Cleveland in 1982, and won a comeback fight versus former world Heavyweight champion Leon Spinks by a knockout in round six in 1983. After that, he and Gordon boxed a rematch in Las Vegas, and De León dropped Gordon once in the first round and once in the twelfth, en route to a unanimous decision win in a history-making bout: De León had now become the first boxer to win the world Cruiserweight title twice.
He defended his title against Yaqui López by a knockout in four at San Jose, California, and with decisions over Anthony Davis, José María Flores Burlón, and Bashiru Ali. The Davis and Burlon bouts took place in Las Vegas and the fight with Ali was in Oakland, California. De León next lost his title in Las Vegas to Alfonzo Ratliff by a decision. Ratliff was in turn beaten by Bernard Benton, who defended against De León on March 22, 1986, once again in Las Vegas. De León joined the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali in becoming one of the few boxers ever to win one division's world championship at least three times, defeating Benton by decision. He made a couple of defenses in Italy and then in 1988, lost his titles in a unification bout with WBA world champion Evander Holyfield, by TKO in the eighth round, also in Las Vegas. But Holyfield soon left the division to pursue the world Heavyweight championship, and De León was left with an open door to break his own record and win the title for a record fourth time. He went to London, where he beat the WBC's number 2 challenger, Sammy Reeson, by a knockout in the Ninth round, breaking his own record and crowning himself world Cruiserweight champion once again. This time, he held on to the title for two years, until losing it to Massimiliano Duran in Italy by an 11 round disqualification.
During the 1990s, De León ran afoul of the law a number of times, once while he was carrying a rifle. Today, he concentrates on helping the career of his son Carlos de León Jr.
Professional boxing record
53 Wins (33 knockouts, 20 decisions), 8 Losses (4 knockouts, 4 decisions), 1 Draw | |||||||
Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
Loss | 22-0 | Brian Nielsen | TKO | 3 | 24/11/1995 | Randers, Denmark | |
Loss | 23-1 | Corrie Sanders | TKO | 1 | 13/08/1994 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
Win | 13-3-3 | Bobby Arthurs | MD | 10 | 17/02/1994 | Joliet, Illinois, United States | |
Win | 3-14-1 | Brian "J.P." Morgan | PTS | 8 | 14/01/1994 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
Win | 1-35-2 | Jordan Keepers | TKO | 5 | 05/11/1993 | Gary, Indiana, United States | |
Win | 6-24-2 | Andre Crowder | KO | 1 | 19/06/1993 | Davenport, Iowa, United States | |
Win | 12-15-3 | Joey Christjohn | PTS | 6 | 15/05/1993 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | |
Win | 3-34-1 | James Wilder | UD | 10 | 13/03/1993 | Aurora, Illinois, United States | |
Win | 10-47 | Rocky Bentley | UD | 10 | 22/01/1993 | Countryside, Illinois, United States | |
Win | 7-17-1 | Bruce Johnson | TKO | 4 | 27/06/1992 | Miami, Florida, United States | |
Loss | 13-2 | Massimiliano Duran | DQ | 11 | 27/07/1990 | Capo d'Orlando, Sicilia, Italy | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. De Leon DQ'ed for hitting after the bell. |
Draw | 15-5 | Johnny Nelson | PTS | 12 | 27/01/1990 | Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. 116-115, 115-115, 111-117. |
Win | 24-1 | Sammy Reeson | TKO | 9 | 17/05/1989 | Millwall, London, United Kingdom | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:04 of the ninth round. |
Loss | 17-0 | Evander Holyfield | TKO | 8 | 09/04/1988 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | WBC/WBA/IBF World Cruiserweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 1:08 of the eighth round. |
Win | 84-9-7 | Jose Maria Flores Burlon | UD | 12 | 22/01/1988 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. 119-110, 118-111, 118-110. |
Win | 9-8 | Larry Phelps | KO | 1 | 01/08/1987 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Phelps knocked out at 1:33 of the first round. |
Win | 23-0-2 | Angelo Rottoli | TKO | 5 | 21/02/1987 | Bergamo, Lombardia, Italy | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. |
Win | 28-5-3 | Michael Greer | TKO | 8 | 10/08/1986 | Giardini Naxos, Sicilia, Italy | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:43 of the eighth round. |
Win | 18-3-1 | Bernard Benton | MD | 12 | 22/03/1986 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. 117-114, 114-114, 115-113. |
Loss | 19-2 | Alfonzo Ratliff | SD | 12 | 06/06/1985 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. 113-116, 117-114, 114-117. |
Win | 9-3-1 | Dorcey Gaymon | TKO | 9 | 12/01/1985 | Oranjestad, Aruba | |
Win | 23-8 | Bash Ali | UD | 12 | 02/06/1984 | Oakland, California, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. 118-112, 118-112, 117-111. |
Win | 15-1 | Anthony Davis | UD | 12 | 09/03/1984 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. 115-112, 118-112, 118-113. |
Win | 61-13 | Yaqui Lopez | TKO | 4 | 21/09/1983 | San Jose, California, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:51 of the fourth round. |
Win | 24-5 | ST Gordon | UD | 12 | 17/07/1983 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. 119-109, 119-109, 118-112. |
Win | 12-3-2 | Leon Spinks | TKO | 6 | 06/03/1983 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
Win | 28-13 | Ivy Brown | PTS | 10 | 26/11/1982 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
Loss | 21-5 | ST Gordon | TKO | 2 | 27/06/1982 | Highland Heights, Ohio, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:51 of the second round. |
Win | 40-3-2 | Marvin Camel | TKO | 8 | 24/02/1982 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. |
Win | 2-6-2 | Greg Payne | TKO | 3 | 12/12/1981 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
Win | 36-2-2 | Marvin Camel | MD | 15 | 25/11/1980 | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title. 145-142, 145-145, 145-141. |
Win | 24-10-1 | Mario Rosa | PTS | 8 | 28/06/1980 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 8-2-1 | Waldemar Paulino | KO | 1 | 25/04/1980 | Anaheim, California, United States | WBC World Cruiserweight Title Eliminator. Paulino knocked out at 0:28 of the first round. |
Win | 25-5-2 | Christy Elliott | TKO | 4 | 25/09/1979 | Miami Beach, Florida, United States | |
Win | 13-15-5 | Willie McIntyre | TKO | 1 | 25/08/1979 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 19-25-2 | Manny Freitas | TKO | 1 | 08/04/1979 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 17-6-3 | Bonifacio Avila | TKO | 2 | 27/01/1979 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 12-11-2 | Wendell Joseph | PTS | 10 | 18/11/1978 | Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States | |
Win | 8-10 | Rennie Pinder | TKO | 3 | 26/09/1978 | Miami Beach, Florida, United States | |
Win | 4-5-1 | Roy Harry | KO | 1 | 08/09/1978 | Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States | Harry knocked out at 2:14 of the first round. |
Win | 4-10-4 | Tyrone Freeman | TKO | 3 | 08/04/1978 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico, United States | Referee stopped the bout at 2:28 of the third round. |
Win | 12-25-5 | Jesse "Chuey" Lara | TKO | 2 | 25/03/1978 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 1-7 | Ray Bryant | TKO | 5 | 28/01/1978 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 15-42-6 | Eddie Davis | TKO | 5 | 08/11/1977 | Orlando, Florida, United States | |
Win | 0-1 | Battling Douglas | TKO | 5 | 14/10/1977 | Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States | Referee stopped the bout at 2:12 of the fifth round. |
Loss | 11-2 | Ray Hammond | PTS | 8 | 10/09/1977 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 5-2-1 | Mustapha Ali | UD | 10 | 29/07/1977 | Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States | 97-95, 99-93, 99-94. |
Win | 12-38-6 | Eddie Davis | TKO | 3 | 25/06/1977 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 0-1 | Antonio Colon | TKO | 6 | 12/02/1977 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 0-1 | Carlos Soto | PTS | 8 | 11/10/1976 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | -- | Astor Agosto | PTS | 8 | 16/08/1976 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 0-1 | Dario de Jesus | PTS | 8 | 19/07/1976 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | -- | Carlos Soto | PTS | 8 | 05/04/1976 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Loss | -- | Roberto Colon | PTS | 4 | 15/02/1976 | Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States | |
Win | 21-15-2 | Larry Adkins | PTS | 8 | 15/09/1975 | Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | |
Win | -- | James Jackson | TKO | 3 | 11/07/1975 | Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | |
Win | 13-7-2 | Cubby Jackson | TKO | 4 | 17/05/1975 | Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles | |
Win | 0-1 | Kid Gavilan | TKO | 6 | 05/04/1975 | Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles | |
Win | -- | Tripodi Guadalupe | TKO | 5 | 17/03/1975 | Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles | |
Win | -- | Vernon Laws | TKO | 3 | 02/11/1974 | Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States | |
Win | 0-2 | Jesse Torres | TKO | 2 | 19/10/1974 | Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States | |
Win | -- | Roy Harris | TKO | 4 | 03/08/1974 | Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States |
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of cruiserweight boxing champions
- List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions
External links
Achievements | ||
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Preceded by Marvin Camel |
WBC Cruiserweight Champion November 25, 1980 – June 27, 1982 |
Succeeded by S.T. Gordon |
Preceded by S.T. Gordon |
WBC Cruiserweight Champion July 17, 1983 – June 6, 1985 |
Succeeded by Alfonso Ratliff |
Preceded by N/A Inaugural champion |
The Ring Cruiserweight Champion February 3, 1984 – June 6, 1985 | |
Preceded by Bernard Benton |
The Ring Cruiserweight Champion March 22, 1986 – March 30, 1987 Recognition of division stopped |
Succeeded by Jean Marc Mormeck Division reintroduced |
WBC Cruiserweight Champion Lineal Cruiserweight Champion March 22, 1986 – April 9, 1988 |
Succeeded by Evander Holyfield | |
Preceded by Evander Holyfield Vacated |
WBC Cruiserweight Champion May 17, 1989 – July 27, 1990 |
Succeeded by Massimiliano Duran |