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Nicknamed "El Gato", Figueroa has been featured numerous times on ESPN2 and HBO fights. On 17 August 2005 he defeated Hector Alejandro Jr. for the New York State Light Welterweight Title. He also fought a powerhouse bout at Madison Square Garden against another undefeated contender, Joey Rios, where he successfully defended the title.
Figueroa fought Emanuel "The Drunken Master" Augustus, in which he won on a controversial split decision, on the undercard of the Roy Jones Jr. vs. Joe Calzaghe fight at Madison Square Garden on 8 November 2008. However, some witnesses[who?] felt that Augustus, who had landed over 20 punches more than Figueroa, won the fight.
Figueroa was ranked fourth in the world and commands three minor regional titles. He linked up with trainer and former world champion, James "Buddy" McGirt, hoping for a chance for a world title in 2009. An opportunity at that title came when Figueroa faced former light welterweight champion Randall Bailey in an IBF title eliminator in early April 2009. Figueroa was knocked down in the opening round, but rallied back to score a flash knockdown in the second round. However, another right hand from Bailey floored Figueroa for the count in the fourth round.
Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, the WBA lightweight title twice between 1986 and 1990, and the WBA super lightweight title from 1991 to 1992.
Carlos Ortiz was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He held world titles in lightweight and light welterweight weight divisions. Along with Félix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Wilfredo Gómez, Héctor Camacho, José Torres, Edwin Rosario and Wilfred Benítez, Ortiz is considered among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time by sports journalists and analysts. As of January 2018, Ortiz holds the record for the most wins in unified lightweight title bouts in boxing history at 10.
Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, from light welterweight to middleweight. In 2007 and 2009, he reached a peak active pound for pound ranking of seventh by The Ring magazine. Cotto started out his career as a hard-hitting pressure fighter, but evolved over the years into a more refined boxer-puncher as he moved up in weight.
During the 1960s, boxing, like mostly everything else around the world, went through changing times. Notable was the emergence of a young boxer named Cassius Clay, who would, in his own words shock the world, declare himself against war, and change his name to Muhammad Ali.
During the 1950s, a couple of relatively new developments changed the world: World War II had only been over for five years when the 1950s began, and television was beginning to make a major impact internationally. In boxing, changes connected to these developments could be seen too, as boxers who fought at the 1940s conflict returned to their homes and many of them were back in the ring. Television producers were in love with sports, which provided the viewer with an opportunity to observe sporting events live, and boxing was not the exception to the rule; many television networks began to feature fights live during the weekends, and the Gillette Friday Night Fights proved to be one of the most popular boxing television series in American history.
Mike McCallum is a Jamaican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBA super welterweight title from 1984 to 1988, the WBA middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and the WBC light heavyweight title from 1994 to 1995.
As in the 1980s, the 1990s in boxing's popularity focused on all divisions. When 1980s legends Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, as well as others retired, newer superstars filled the void: Pernell Whitaker, Julio César Chávez, in the early 1990s, Oscar De La Hoya, Félix Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the mid to late 1990s.
Luis Collazo is an American former professional boxer who held the WBA welterweight title from 2005 to 2006.
Randall Bailey is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2016. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO light welterweight title from 1999 to 2000, and the IBF welterweight title in 2012. Additionally, he held the WBA interim light welterweight title in 2002. Nicknamed "The Knock-Out King" for his exceptional knockout power, Bailey is considered to be one of the hardest punchers in boxing history.
Nathaniel "Nate" Campbell III is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014, and currently works as a TV host and gym owner of Galaxxy Boxing Refuge. In boxing he held the unified WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO lightweight titles from 2008 to 2009, as well as having challenged for the IBF super featherweight title in 2005 and the WBO junior welterweight title in 2009.
Doug Jones was an American heavyweight boxer. He was the number-one contender in early 1964 and beat top contenders Zora Folley, Light Heavyweight Champion Bob Foster, Middleweight World Champion Bobo Olson and World Heavyweight title challengers Pete Rademacher and Tom McNeeley in his career. He was best known for his 1963 fight with Cassius Clay which he lost by Unanimous decision.
Sergio Gabriel Martínez is an Argentine professional boxer. He has held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010; and the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles between 2010 and 2014. With six successful defenses of The Ring and lineal middleweight titles, Martínez's 50-month reign as champion ranks as one of the longest in the history of that weight class.
Aaron Pryor was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1990. He was a two-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 1980 to 1983, and the IBF title from 1984 to 1985. Additionally, he held the Ring magazine title from 1980 to 1983, and the lineal title from 1983 to 1986.
Tippy Larkin, born Antonio Pilliteri, was an American boxer from New Jersey who took the world light-welterweight boxing championship on April 29, 1946, in a twelve-round unanimous decision against Willie Joyce in Boston. From 1935 to 1946, Larkin's record was 114–9. He had Angelo Pucci as manager throughout his career, and during the nineteen bouts he had at Madison Square Garden.
Boxing in the 2010s includes notable events about boxing which occurred between 2010 and 2019. The decade saw high intensity action in the welterweight division. The match between veterans Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao broke PPV records. The broadcast of the fight in the Philippines was watched by nearly half the country's households. Mayweather retired at a record 50-0-0 while Pacquiao became the first eight division champion. The middleweight division saw immense action in the later years of the decade. After a draw in 2017, Canelo Alvarez ended Gennady Golovkin's long reign in 2018. The heavyweight division was dominated by Klitschko brothers before Wladimir's loss to Tyson Fury in 2015. Other talents that emerged were Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksander Usyk.
José Carlos Ramírez is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified champion at light welterweight, having held the World Boxing Council (WBC) title from 2018 to 2021 and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title from 2019 to 2021. As an amateur he represented the United States at the 2012 Olympics.
Terence Allan Crawford is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, from lightweight to light middleweight, including the undisputed championship at light welterweight and welterweight. He currently holds the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organization (WBO), and The Ring welterweight titles and the (WBA) light middleweight title.
Bob Pastor born Robert E. Pasternak, was a prominent American boxer. He was a top-ranked heavyweight of the 1940s who once challenged for the world title, losing to Joe Louis in 1939.
Teófimo Andrés López Rivera is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and Ring magazine light welterweight titles since 2023; previously he held the unified World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), WBO, and Ring lightweight titles between 2019 and 2021. Lopez has also held the lineal championship at lightweight and light welterweight. As an amateur, he represented Honduras at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
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