Kermit Cintrón

Kermit Cintrón
Statistics
Nickname(s) The Killer
El Asesino ("The Assassin")
Rated at Light middleweight
Welterweight
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Reach 74 in (188 cm)
Nationality Puerto Rican, American
Born (1979-10-22) October 22, 1979
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 42
Wins 35
Wins by KO 28
Losses 5
Draws 2

Kermit Cintrón (born October 22, 1979) is a Puerto Rican-American professional boxer. He is a former IBF welterweight champion and light middleweight world title challenger.

Early and personal life

Cintrón had a tough childhood. He witnessed as his mother lie in bed for months before she died of cancer. Unable to care for Cintrón and his siblings, Cintrón's father sent him to the United States, with Cintrón's uncle, Benjamin Serrano, a former Middleweight contender who had fought Frank Fletcher among others. Cintrón's father, however, kept regular contact with his kids. But when Cintrón was 13, another tragic blow shook him: His father died of a heart attack, leaving him and his siblings orphaned on both sides. He is married to María Cintrón, the couple have three children.[1] Two daughters, Denali and Savannah and a son, Santiago.[1]

In early 2008, Cintrón was trained by Emanuel Steward, who focused his training in boxing and counterattacks.[2] He decided to finish this partnership, based on the fact that Steward's time was limited due to several other compromises. Despite this, both conserved a close friendship.[2] During this timeframe, Cintrón abandoned Main Events, signing a promotional contract with Lou DiBella. His next trainer was Ronnie Shields, who emphasized on a faster training pace.[2] Shields preferred a more aggressive style, reminiscent of the one presented during the early stage of Cintrón's early career. Brian Caldwell was employed as conditioning coach, in the process modifying his weight routines.[2]

Involvement in other combat sports

Cintrón found wrestling and boxing to be an outlet from his personal troubles, so he started spending more and more of his time practicing those sports. While attending William Tennent High School in Warminster, Pennsylvania, he became an accomplished high-school wrestler on the same team as actor Mike Vogel. After competing at William Tennent, Cintron wrestled at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology a Junior College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

In April 2007, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. publicly claimed that any boxer could make the transition into mixed martial arts and win. In response, Ultimate Fighting Championship's president, Dana White, issued him a challenge to fight the promotion's lightweight champion, Sean Sherk. Mayweather later said that he did not wish to compete in the discipline. However, Cintrón stated that he was willing to fight Sherk in his place.[3] "I want the fight," said Cintrón, who was 27-1 with 25 KOs. "I can wrestle. I can box. I can beat those UFC fighters at their own game. Tell Mr. White to make me an offer and I'll take on his guy...."[3]

Seven years later, Mike Sloan of Sherdog argued that "If Cintron [sic] would have had the opportunity to compete in MMA when he first got into boxing, he would have torn most of the lower weight divisions asunder" and "would have been a top contender in MMA."[4] Sloan argued that his wrestling background and "ferocious banging style" represented "a dynamic combination that would have given MMA contenders all sorts of trouble" had he completed the transition in his prime.[4]

Boxing career

Cintrón did not start boxing in the amateurs until he was 19. He compiled a record of 24 wins and 5 losses as an amateur.

On the night of October 7, 2000, Cintrón knocked out Jesse Williams in two rounds in Lancaster to begin his professional career.[5] Cintrón thus began an undefeated streak that would last for more than three-and-a-half years.

One of his toughest tests during that streak came against Omar Davila on February 16, 2002.[6] Cintrón took the fight on one week's notice and traveled to his opponent's hometown of San Antonio. Despite being cut on the side of one of his eyes in the first round, Cintrón overcame adversity, coming back to defeat Davila by knockout in round two.

Cintrón was featured on NBC on May 18, 2003, against Puerto Rican veteran Luis Rosario, and he won by knockout 59 seconds into round one.

On July 17, 2004, Cintrón made his HBO Boxing debut, knocking out Teddy Reid in eight rounds.[7]

KO Magazine featured Cintrón in an article, which compared his punching power to that of Félix Trinidad and Thomas Hearns.

Still undefeated and now considered a rising star in the division, Cintrón was scheduled for his first world title bout against WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito on April 23, 2005, as part of the undercard of a Shane Mosley win by unanimous decision against the Guatemalan-American boxer David Estrada. Cintrón was dropped by Margarito four times en route to a fifth-round knockout loss.[8]

In early 2006, Cintrón rebounded with a tenth-round technical knockout of Estrada,[9] thus reestablishing himself as a contender in the welterweight division.

Cintrón then won his first title belt in a match against Mark Suarez for the IBF crown that had been vacated on June 20, 2006 by Floyd Mayweather, Jr.[10]

On July 14, 2007, Cintrón was dominant in his first title defense, knocking down Argentine Walter Matthysse three times on his way to a knockout victory twenty-nine seconds into the second round.[11] Prior to this match, Matthysse had never been knocked down by any opponent, although he had suffered a tenth-round technical knockout in May 2006 at the hands of Paul Williams. (The Cintrón-Matthysse bout was the main undercard of a WBO title bout between challenger Williams and incumbent Margarito)

Cintrón and Williams were scheduled for an IBF/WBO title unification bout on February 2, 2008. But as a result of an injury to Cintrón's right hand sustained during his bout with Jesse Feliciano the fight has been canceled.[12]

Cintrón lost his IBF title to Antonio Margarito by knockout on an April 12 broadcast of HBO's World Championship Boxing in a rematch from Atlantic City, NJ, on the undercard of Miguel Cotto vs. Alfonso Gomez. In the sixth round, Cintrón fell to the canvas after receiving a one-two punch to the head and a body shot and did not get up before the referee concluded the protective count.[13] It was the first time he had lost a professional fight by a knockout (his previous loss to Margarito being scored as a technical knockout).

Cintrón returned to action against Lovemore N'dou, competing in an eliminatory fight sanctioned by the IBF. The fight took place on November 15, 2008, in a card held in Nashville, Tennessee. Early in the fight, Cintrón began on the offensive, while N'dou clinched regularly.[14] This pattern slowed the fight's tempo throughout the contest. In the third round, Cintrón connected a solid punch, N'dou tried to counterattack and exchange but was ineffective, eventually returning to a strategy based on holds.[14] The numerous clinches resulted in head butts, the referee issued numerous warnings to N'dou for these, eventually deducting a point in the ninth. In the tenth round, an accidental headbutt opened a laceration over Cintrón's eyebrow. In the eleventh round, he was able to injure N'dou with a punch, but did not continue pressing the offensive. Subsequently, the judges awarded Cintrón scores of 117-110, 115-112 and 116-111.[14]

Light middleweight division

Cintrón's victory over N'dou made him Joshua Clottey's mandatory challenger. The fight was discussed and preliminary agreements scheduled it for February 21, 2009.[15] However, after receiving a more lucrative offer, Cintrón decided to fight Sergio Gabriel Martínez for the World Boxing Council's interim light middleweight championship.[15] The bout took place on February 14, 2009, and ended in a controversial majority draw. The opening rounds held no meaningful action, with Cintrón holding an early edge due to his aggression and cleaner punching. By the fourth round, Martínez started moving around with his hands down in an effort to draw Cintrón into a mistake, but to no avail, as there continued to be more clinching than punching. Martínez opened a cut over Cintrón's left eye early in the fifth round. Late in the seventh round, a left hand to the head hurt Cintrón, and after backing into the ropes, he went down to his knees before Martínez could attack. Cintrón claimed he was headbutted while the referee Frank Santore continued the count. After Cintrón's protests and a lot of confusion in the ring, Santore allowed the bout to continue, saying Cintrón was up at nine and that he never stopped the fight. Martínez went after Cintrón once the eighth round commenced and taunted him after landing punches to the head. Cintrón responded with sustained action of his own, but it was Martínez ending the round with another left hand to the head. The ninth round was favorable for Martínez, but Cintrón rebounded in the tenth round. Martínez lost a point for a punch to the back of the head in the final round. Scores were 116-110 for Martínez and 113-113 draw.[16]

On May 30, 2009 Cintron defeated Alfredo Angulo (15-0) by a unanimous decision.

Wins over highly regarded Alfredo Angulo and lesser-known Juliano Ramos put Cintrón into position to fight Paul "The Punisher" Williams, thought to be one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. This fight took place on May 8, 2010. Although Williams often averages over one hundred punches per round, Cintrón was able to neutralize his punch output over the first three rounds by effectively jabbing and countering with his right hand. This resulted in a very technical three rounds of boxing and, not surprisingly, voluminous jeers from the spectating crowd. In the fourth round, however, the combatants began to exchange punches, each landing hard power punches on one another. One such exchange caused an entanglement between the fighters, sending Williams to the canvas and Cintrón through the ropes, where he landed on a media table abutting the exterior of the ring. He then fell to the floor and was immediately attended to by ringside doctors. Boxing rules dictate that a fighter, in these circumstances, is afforded a five-minute period with which to recover; however, given that Cintrón was advised by doctors not to move, the fight was called and Cintrón was removed from the arena bound to a stretcher. Since three rounds had been completed, the fight became official and Williams was declared the winner by split decision.

On July 9, 2010, Cintrón lost a unanimous decision to Carlos Molina, who had a 18-4-2 record going into the fight.

On August 12, 2011, Cintrón won a unanimous decision over Antwone Smith.

On November 26, 2011, Cintrón was knocked out in five rounds by Saul Alvarez.

Professional record

35 Wins (28 Knockouts), 5 Losses (3 Knockouts), 2 Draw[17]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Venue and Location Notes
Win35-5-2United States Ronald Cruz UD102014-03-15 United States Sands Casino Resort, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Win34-5-2Dominican Republic Jonathan Batista UD102013-08-02 United States Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma, USA
Draw33-5-2Mexico Adrian Granados SD102013-03-22 United States UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Loss33-5-1Mexico Saúl Álvarez TKO5 (12), 2:532011-11-26 Mexico Monumental Plaza México, D.F., México For WBC Light Middleweight title
Win33-4-1United States Antwone Smith UD102011-08-12 United States Family Arena, Saint Charles, Missouri
Loss32-4-1Mexico Carlos Molina UD102011-07-09 United States Home Depot Center, Carson, California
Loss32-3-1United States Paul Williams TD4 (12)2010-05-08 United States Home Depot Center, Carson, California
Win32-2-1Brazil Juliano Ramos RTD5 (12), 0:102009-10-24 Puerto Rico Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Win31-2-1Mexico Alfredo Angulo UD122009-05-30 United States Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida WBC Light Middleweight title eliminator
Draw30-2-1Argentina Sergio Martínez MD122009-02-14 United States BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida For interim WBC Light Middleweight title
Win30-2South Africa Lovemore N'dou UD122008-11-15 United States Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tennessee IBF Welterweight title eliminator
Loss29-2United States Antonio Margarito KO6 (12), 1:572008-04-12 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Lost IBF Welterweight title
Win29-1United States Jesse Feliciano TKO10 (12), 1:532007-11-23 United States Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Retained IBF Welterweight title
Win28-1Argentina Walter Matthysse KO2 (12), 0:292007-07-14 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Retained IBF Welterweight title
Win27-1United States Mark Suárez TKO5 (12), 2:312006-10-28 United States Palm Beach Convention Center, Palm Beach, Florida Won vacant IBF Welterweight title
Win26-1United States David Estrada TKO10 (12), 1:132006-04-19 United States Palm Beach Convention Center, Palm Beach, Florida
Win25-1Mexico Francisco Javier Parra TKO3 (8), 2:072005-09-29 United States Michael's Eighth Avenue, Glen Burnie, Maryland
Loss24-1United States Antonio Margarito TKO5 (12), 2:122005-04-23 United States Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada For WBO Welterweight title
Win24-0Jamaica Teddy Reid TKO8 (12), 0:562004-07-17 United States Reliant Center, Houston, Texas Won interim WBO Welterweight title
Win23-0Venezuela Elio Ortiz TKO6 (10), 1:152004-05-01 United States Bally's Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win22-0Costa Rica Humberto Aranda TKO5 (10), 1:052004-01-24 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win21-0Cuba Hicklet Lau TKO9 (10), 0:452003-12-12 United States Casino Del Sol, Tucson, Arizona
Win20-0Mexico Jesus Felipe Valverde UD102003-08-29 United States Sovereign Center, Reading, Pennsylvania
Win19-0United States Luis Rosado TKO1 (8), 2:272003-05-17 United States Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win18-0United States Frankie Sanchez TKO6 (10)2003-02-14 United States Comfort Hall, Reading, Pennsylvania
Win17-0Canada Ian MacKillop TKO2 (10), 1:292002-08-24 United States Bally's Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win16-0Ecuador Otilio Villarreal TKO2 (8), 2:292002-07-19 United States Riveredge Hotel, Reading, Pennsylvania
Win15-0United States Patrick Thorns TKO4 (10), 1:092002-05-10 United States El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Win14-0Cuba Alex Perez TKO2 (8)2002-03-15 United States Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Win13-0United States Omar Davila TKO2 (10), 2:132002-02-16 United States Sunset Station, San Antonio, Texas
Win12-0United States Andre Baker KO4 (4)2001-09-25 United States Lincoln Hotel, Reading, Pennsylvania
Win11-0Morocco Said Ouali TKO5 (8), 1:502001-08-18 United States Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Win10-0United States Leon Pearson PTS62001-05-31 United States Zembo Shrine, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Win9-0United States Leroy Brown TKO22001-04-28 United States Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Win8-0United States Genaro Andujar KO12001-03-29 United States National Guard Armory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win7-0United States Kareem Whitehurst TKO12001-03-15 United States Days Inn, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Win6-0United States George Turner TKO12001-02-09 United States Reading, Pennsylvania
Win5-0United States Vernon Meeks TKO12001-01-19 United States Norfolk, Virginia
Win4-0United States Willis Silver TKO12001-01-12 United States The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win3-0United States Danny Rodriguez TKO4 (4)2000-11-21 United States Genetti Manor, Dickson City, Pennsylvania
Win2-0United States Lawrence Brooks KO12000-10-19 United States Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Win1-0United States Jesse Williams TKO2 (4)2000-10-07 United States Lancaster, Pennsylvania Professional Debut

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Cintrón: 'Margarito va a detener a Cotto'" (in Spanish). AOL Latino. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gabriel Montoya (2009-01-27). "Kermit Cintron’s got a Brand New Bag (and another title shot)". MaxBoxing.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  3. 1 2 Michael Woods (2007-05-10). "Kermit Cintrón Says He'll Fight UFC". The Sweet Science. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  4. 1 2 Mike Sloan (2014-04-20). "10 boxers who could have succeeded in MMA". Sherdog. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  5. "Kermit Cintrón". Main Events. Archived from the original on 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  6. John Gregg (2002-02-16). "Cintrón KO's Davila in Two". The Boxing Times. Archived from the original on 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  7. John Gregg (2004-07-17). "Cintrón Blasts Out Reid In Eight". The Boxing Times. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  8. Spencer Cobb Adams (2005-04-23). "Too Much Margarito TKO's Cintrón In Five". The Boxing Times. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  9. Luis Escobar (2006-04-19). "Cintrón Rallies TKO's Estrada". The Boxing Times. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  10. Luis Escobar (2006-10-28). "Cintrón Captures Vacant IBF Belt TKO's Suarez". The Boxing Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  11. Luis Escobar (2007-07-14). "Cintrón Blasts Out Matthysse In Two". The Boxing Times. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  12. Dan Rafael (2007-11-27). "Welterweight titlist Cintrón has severe ligament damage in right hand". ESPN. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
  13. YouTube (2008-04-12). "Cintron Knocked Out". Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  14. 1 2 3 Jake Donovan (2008-11-15). "Cintron Decisions N'Dou, Full Taylor-Lacy U/C Results". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  15. 1 2 Rick Reeno (2009-01-14). "Sergio Martinez vs. Kermit Cintron on February 14 on HBO". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  16. Thomas Gerbasi (2009-02-15). "Campbell Guts Out Win over Funeka; Martínez Robbed Twice on HBO B.A.D.". MaxBoxing.com. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  17. Kermit Cintrón's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-23.

External links

Awards and achievements
Vacant
Title last held by
Manning Galloway
WBO Welterweight Interim Champion
July 17, 2004 - April 23, 2005
Lost bid for world title
Vacant
Title next held by
Timothy Bradley
Vacant
Title last held by
Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
IBF Welterweight Champion
October 28, 2006 April 12, 2008
Succeeded by
Antonio Margarito
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