Joel Casamayor

Joel Casamayor
Statistics
Real name	Joel Casamayor Johnson
Nickname(s)	El Cepillo ("The Brush")
Rated at	Super featherweight Lightweight Light welterweight
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Reach	69 in (175 cm)
Nationality	Cuban
Born	July 12, 1971 Guantánamo, Cuba
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	45
Wins	38
Wins by KO	22
Losses	6
Draws	1
Medal record Representing  Cuba Men's boxing Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona Bantamweight World Amateur Championships 1993 Tampere Bantamweight Central American and Caribbean Games 1990 Mexico City Bantamweight

Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban former professional boxer. He held the WBA super featherweight title as well as the WBC, Ring magazine and WBO (interim) lightweight titles. As an amateur, Casamayor won a gold medal in the bantamweight division at the 1992 Olympics, after which he defected to the United States on the eve of the 1996 Olympics. His nickname of "El Cepillo", literally translated to "the brush", refers to his uppercut, which is said to rake his opponents across the face, while also representing his ability to "brush off" punches from his opponents.

Amateur career

• 1989 - Gold medal (Bantamweight) at the Junior World Championships
• 1992 - Gold medal (Bantamweight) at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain
  • Defeated Venkatesan Devarajan (India) points
  • Defeated Riadh Klaai (Tunisia) points
  • Defeated Roberto Jalnaiz (Philippines) KO 1
  • Defeated Mohammed Achik (Morocco) TKO 1
  • Defeated Wayne McCullough (Ireland) points
• 1993 - Silver medal (Bantamweight) at the 1993 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Tampere, Finland
  • Defeated Agathangelos Tsiripidis (Greece) TKO 3
  • Defeated Dirk Krueger (Germany) points
  • Defeated Arthur Mikaelian (Armenia) points
  • Defeated Vladislav Antonov (Russia) points
  • Lost to Alexander Hristov (Bulgaria) points
• 1994 - Bronze medal (Featherweight) at the World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand
  • Defeated Brian Carr (Scotland) points
  • Defeated Nourredine Medjihoud (Algeria) points
  • Defeated Cristian Rodriguez (Argentina) points
  • Lost to Falk Huste (Germany) points
• 1994 - Silver Medal (Featherweight) at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia
  • Defeated Kai Kandelin (Finland) TKO 1
  • Defeated Claude Chinon (France) points
  • Lost to Ramaz Paliani (Russia) points
• 1995 - Competed (Featherweight) at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin, Germany
  • Lost to Raimkul Malachbekov (Russia) points

Professional career

He won the NABF Super Featheweight title in 1999 by beating Jose Luis Noyola. Later that year, he won the WBA Super Featherweight title by stopping Jong-Kwon Baek in 5 rounds. In 2002, he lost that title in a controversial unification bout with WBO champion Acelino Freitas. At one point in the fight, Casamayor slipped and the referee ruled it a knockdown. Casamayor also had a point deducted for a late hit. Many believe Casamayor should have won the fight. In 2004, Diego Corrales, whom Casamayor stopped in 2003 for the Vacant IBA Super Featherweight Title, defeated him for the vacant WBO Super Featherweight title via a very close and controversial decision. Casamayor failed to take the WBC Lightweight title from José Luis Castillo later that year because the judges scored what seemed to be a clear win for Casamayor over Castillo. After the disputed loss to Castillo, Casamayor's career appeared to be in a downward spiral and he was set up with undefeated rising prospect Almazbek Raiymkulov in June 2005. In a close, spirited battle the bout ended in a draw, with many believing that Casamayor's best days were behind him.

After two victories against little known opposition, in October 2006, Casamayor yet again took on the popular Diego Corrales, and defeated him by split decision, winning the WBC Lightweight title and recognition as the world lightweight champion by Ring Magazine. He was stripped of the WBC title for signing to fight then WBO lightweight champion Freitas rather than defend against his mandatory challenger, WBC interim champion David Diaz. Although the fight with Freitas never took place, David Diaz was still named WBC champion and Freitas went on to fight WBA champion Juan Diaz, losing via a 9th round TKO.

After Casamayor threatened the WBC with legal action, he was named as their interim champ. He defended the interim championship as well as The Ring's title against Jose Armando Santa Cruz on November 11, 2007 and won a controversial split decision.

The WBC removed Casamayor's interim title when, instead of fighting a rematch with Santa Cruz, he signed to fight undefeated Michael Katsidis, the WBO interim lightweight titlist. On March 22, 2008, in a great battle, Casamayor became the first man to defeat the Australian Katsidis when he won the fight with a TKO in the 10th round. With the win, Casamayor retained his Ring Magazine world title and added the WBO interim championship to his collection. He is managed by Luis Decubas Jr.

Casamayor vs. Marquez

Casamayor was defeated by Juan Manuel Márquez on September 13, 2008. Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KOs) by Knockout in the 11th round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise. In the first four rounds of the bout, Marquez continually walked into counter lefts from Casamayor. It took Marquez until the fifth round to be able to find the range with his right hand. By the fifth round, a cut over Casamayor's right eye was opened from a clash of heads. Rounds five, six, seven and eight were rounds where Marquez landed straight punches from the outside, but he was also nailed by Casamayor whenever he lunged forward. Two minutes into the eleventh round, Casamayor was knocked down by a right hand as he pulled away from an intense exchange. Casamayor got up and immediately tried to smother Marquez, but Marquez let his hands go in furious combination. Casamayor swung back, but he went down again with about 7 seconds left in the round. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in and stopped the fight before Casamayor had a chance to stand up again. This caused some anger from fans, however, Casamayor was gracious in defeat and said, "Marquez was the best this night." The official judges had the fight scored 95-95, 95-95, and 97-93 for Marquez.^[1]

Casamayor is a unionized boxer, a member of the Joint Association of Boxers.

Comeback

On November 6, 2009, Casamayor beat Jason Davis by unanimous decision.^[2]

Casamayor fought Mexican American Robert Guerrero at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, on July 31, 2010. The 10 round bout was an undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz II event.^[3] The 39-year-old pugilist lost the match by unanimous decision: 98–89, 98–89, 97–90. Guerrero rocked Casamayor throughout the fight, sending him down in the second round. The Cuban got up and looked exhausted after two rounds. He recovered in the next rounds but Guerrero continued to put pressure, landing several combinations and outboxing him. In the last minute of the final round, the Cuban engaged on the offensive, with Guerrero being knocked down for the first time in his professional career.^[4]

Professional boxing record

See also

• List of Cuban Americans

References

1. ap.google.com, Marquez floors Casamayor in big lightweight debut
2. Joel Casamayor : boxer
3. Gonzales, Jhonny (July 9, 2010). "Joel Casamayor Wants To Avenge Loss To Marquez". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
4. Vester, Mark (July 31, 2010). "Robert Guerrero Gets Lackluster Win Over Joel Casamayor". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
5. Joel Casamayor's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-28.

External links

• Joel Casamayor Official Site
• Professional boxing record for Joel Casamayor from BoxRec
• Olympic profile
• Article about the Joel Casamayor-Diego Corrales rivalry