Nelson Dieppa

Last updated
Nelson Dieppa
Born
Nelson Dieppa-Gerena

(1971-02-25) February 25, 1971 (age 53)
NationalityPuerto Rican
Other namesFuegete
Statistics
Weight(s) Light flyweight
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Reach66 in (168 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights33
Wins25
Wins by KO14
Losses5
Draws2
No contests1
Medal record
Men's Boxing
Representing Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico
World Amateur Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1991 Sydney Light Flyweight
Pan American Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1991 Havana Light Flyweight

Nelson Dieppa-Gerena (born February 25, 1971) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur, he represented Puerto Rico in international events including the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships, 1991 Pan American Games and the 1992 Summer Olympics. Dieppa debuted as a professional on February 13, 1993, when he defeated Carlos Figueroa. His first world championship fight took place on July 3, 2000, when he lost to Will Grigsby for the World Boxing Organization's light flyweight championship. Following this fight Grigsby tested positive for illegal drugs and the title was declared vacant. Following this fight the title was won by Masibulele Makepula but was stripped again. He won the vacant title on April 14, 2001, in a fight against Andy Tabanas. Dieppa defended the title successfully five times before losing it to Hugo Cázares on April 30, 2005.

Contents

Early life and amateur career

Nelson Dieppa was born and raised in Vieques, Puerto Rico. He began his boxing career at a young age. As an amateur Dieppa represented Puerto Rico in international competitions, competing in the Light Flyweight division (– 48 kilograms). In 1991 he represented the island in two major international events. The first one was the World Amateur Boxing Championships, organized in Sydney, Australia from November 15 to 23. In this event he won bronze, finishing in the third global position along Daniel Petrov of Bulgaria. [1] His second international participation of the year was in the Pan American Games that took place on Havana, Cuba. Here he again took bronze, sharing the third position with Fernando Retayud of Colombia. [2] A year later he went on to represent Puerto Rico at the 1992 Olympic Games, held in Barcelona, Spain. [3] These would mark his final participation in an amateur event. Dieppa only participated in one fight in the first round of the Olympic boxing tournament, where he fought against Daniel Petrov. Dieppa lost the fight by points, with a final score of 7-10. [3]

Professional career

Dieppa debuted as a professional on February 13, 1993, when he fought Carlos Figueroa in an event organized at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. He won the fight by knockout in the first round. His first professional fight in Vieques took place on March 7, 1993, when he knocked out David Almodouvar in the second round. It took Dieppa almost eight months to return to a boxing ring in an official fight. This was his first major lay-off from boxing. He returned, on January 29, 1994, and participated in a boxing card that took place in San Juan, where he defeated Jose Hernandez by unanimous decision. Dieppa's first fight outside of Puerto Rico took place on April 13, 1995, when he fought Hipolito Saucedo, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The contest was scheduled for six rounds and the judges declared it a draw. Following this fight he participated in four fights organized in Ponce and San Juan, winning two by knockout.

On June 1, 1996, Dieppa won his first regional professional championship when he defeated Pablo Tiznado in a card that took place in Miami, Florida. In this fight he won the Fecarbox Flyweight championship, a regional title sanctioned by the World Boxing Council. During this timeframe Dieppa was trained by Félix Trinidad Sr. and was under contract with Don King. Dieppa won three, non-title bouts in a row, including a unanimous decision in eight rounds against Kenny Berrios on June 7, 1997. His next fight was against Carlos Murillo and was held on February 13, 1998, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The judges awarded Murillo a split decision victory, marking Dieppa's first professional defeat. On October 3, 1998, he returned to activity in a fight against Orlando Malone. Dieppa won the fight by unanimous decision. He participated in three fights between 1999 and early 2000, winning all of them by knockout.

On July 3, 2000, Dieppa had his first world title opportunity. Dieppa fought world champion Will Grigsby for the WBO's world Jr. Flyweight title. Dieppa was declared the winner by unanimous decision at first, but Grigsby tested positive for cocaine after the fight. The WBO declared the fight a no contest and Dieppa was stripped of the championship. Masibulele Makepula of South Africa won the vacant championship but the WBO stripped it and declared it vacant.

Winning and defending the WBO title

After winning a preparatory fight, Dieppa would fight against Andy Tabanas for the vacant WBO championship. The fight was organized at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. Dieppa won the fight by knockout in the eleventh round. His first title defense took place on September 29, 2001, where he retained his title with a twelve-round unanimous decision over Fahran Sakkreehrin. The end of the fight with Sakkreehin marked the beginning of Dieppa's managerial problems. During this timeframe Félix Trinidad Sr. retired, leaving Dieppa without a trainer. As a consequence Dieppa spent several months inactive. His next fight took place on August 24, 2002, against John Molina. Defending his WBO Jr. Flyweight title for the second time, Dieppa suffered an injury product of accidental headbutt in the second round, which led to the fight being declared a technical draw.

For the next year and a half, Dieppa had a series of problems, including some injuries and ongoing managerial disputes. The World Boxing Organization considered stripping him of the championship, but decided that Dieppa was unable to defend the title due to matters outside of his control. On March 20, 2004, Dieppa participated in his third title defense, against Colombia's Kermin Guardia in a fight held at the Mario Morales coliseum, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Dieppa won by knockout after one minute and fifty-one seconds of the round had passed. Guardia announced his retirement immediately after the fight. Dieppa's next defense took place on July 30, 2004, in a card organized in Louisville, Kentucky, where he fought against Ulises Solís. Dieppa retained the title by a majority decision, with one of the judges scoring the fight 114-114 while the other two gave scorecards of 120-108 in favor of Dieppa.

On January 29, 2005, Dieppa fought against Alex Sánchez in a fight that took place at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. [4] Prior to the fight a number of promotional events were organized. Sanchez had an early advantage in the fight, relying on his boxing skills. In the eleventh round Dieppa won by knockout after connecting a solid combination. [4] This fight was named the fight of the year in Puerto Rico by the local boxing commission.

2005-present

On April 30, 2005, Dieppa lost the light flyweight championship against Hugo Cázares. [5] The fight was stopped in the tenth round with Cazares receiving a technical decision victory.

On December 17, 2005, Dieppa returned to action versus Juan Alfonso Keb Baas in an event organized in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Dieppa won by unanimous decision and won the vacant WBC Continental Americas Jr. Flyweight title. [6] On May 26, 2006, Dieppa fought against Eric Ramírez of Mexico. [7] In this fight he focused on using his boxing skills to counter Ramírez's aggressive style. [7] Dieppa received identical scores of 97-92 from the judges. [7] On March 23, 2007, Dieppa lost by divided decision against Daniel Reyes. [8] Following this fight, Dieppa defeated former champion Alex Sanchez, and lost by unanimous decision to Iván Calderón for the WBO's championship. [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Carbajal</span> American boxer

Michael Carbajal is an American five-time world boxing champion of Mexican descent. His nickname was "Little Hands of Stone" after his favorite boxer, "Hands of Stone" Roberto Durán.

Wilfredo Vázquez Olivera is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 2002. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBA bantamweight title from 1987 to 1988, the WBA super bantamweight title from 1992 to 1995, and the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1996 to 1998. His son, Wilfredo Vázquez Jr., is also a former boxer and world champion.

Iván Calderón Marrero is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2012. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBO mini flyweight title from 2003 to 2007, and the WBO, Ring magazine, and lineal light flyweight titles from 2007 to 2010. Additionally, his August 2010 bout against Giovani Segura was named fight of the year by Ring magazine. As an amateur Calderón represented Puerto Rico in international competitions, including the 2000 Olympics.

Alexander Sánchez Sepúlveda is a former Puerto Rican professional boxer. He held the WBO minimumweight title from 1993 to 1997.

Ricardo López Nava is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2001. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC mini flyweight title from 1990 to 1998, defending it against a record-breaking 21 opponents; the WBA and WBO mini flyweight titles between 1997 and 1998; and the IBF junior flyweight title from 1999 until his retirement in 2001. He is one of just fifteen world boxing champions to retire without a loss. He is the father of undefeated former boxer Alonso López.

Hugo Fidel Cázares is a Mexican retired professional boxer who is the former WBA super flyweight champion, WBO and Lineal light flyweight champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omar Narváez (boxer)</span> Argentine boxer

Omar Andrés Narváez is an Argentine professional boxer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBO flyweight title from 2002 to 2010, and the WBO junior bantamweight title from 2010 to 2014. Narváez holds world record for the most total successful defenses of world titles. He is the longest reigning flyweight champion in history.

William Henry Grigsby is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2007 and held the IBF junior flyweight title twice between 1998 and 2006. He also won the WBO junior flyweight title in 2000, but was stripped of the title for failing a drug test.

McJoe Arroyo Acevedo is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who held the IBF junior bantamweight title from 2015 to 2016. As an amateur, he represented Puerto Rico in international competition, winning a bronze medal at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships in the bantamweight category. His twin brother, McWilliams Arroyo, is also a professional boxer. The brothers are the only pair of twins to win medals at the World Amateur Boxing Championships, and the second twins to qualify for the Olympics in boxing.

McWilliams Arroyo Acevedo is a Puerto Rican professional boxer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Román Martínez (boxer)</span> Puerto Rican boxer

Román "Rocky" Martínez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is a former WBO junior lightweight champion, having held the title three times between 2009 and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Quintana (boxer)</span> Puerto Rican boxer

Carlos Quintana is a retired Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur Quintana represented Puerto Rico. He debuted as a professional in 1997. On February 24, 2006, he participated in his first professional championship fight, defeating Raul Bejerano for the World Boxing Organization's Latino welterweight championship. His first defense took place on June 24, 2006, when he defeated Joel Julio by unanimous decision in a welterweight title eliminator. In this fight he also won the World Boxing Council's Latino welterweight championship. His first world title fight took place on December 2, 2006, when he fought against Miguel Cotto for the World Boxing Association welterweight title. Cotto won the fight by technical knockout. On February 9, 2008, Quintana challenged Paul Williams for the WBO welterweight championship, winning the fight by unanimous decision. He entered the Light Middleweight division to face Deandre Latimore, knocking Latimore out to win the NABO Light Middleweight championship.

José Ángel "Carita" López Rivera is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who has competed in the flyweight and super flyweight divisions. His first professional championship was the Puerto Rican flyweight title, which won by defeating José Luis De Jesús. López's first championship opportunity was against Alberto Jiménez for the World Boxing Organization's flyweight title, in a contest that he lost by unanimous decision. This was followed by three more world championships fights, two of them for major titles. However, López lost these contests by unanimous decision. On June 23, 2001, López won the WBO Latino super flyweight title. After losing to Fernando Montiel in his fifth world title opportunity, he recurred to fight for regional championships. From 2001 to 2008, López compiled an undefeated record consisting of 14 wins and a single draw. On March 28, 2009, López defeated Pramuansak Phosuwan to win the WBO's super flyweight world championship.

Jonathan González Ortiz is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior flyweight title from 2021 to 2024. As an amateur, González won gold medals at the 2008 Youth World Championships and the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, both at flyweight.

Emmanuel Rodríguez Vázquez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who has held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight title twice between 2018 and 2024. As an amateur he represented Puerto Rico at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and won a gold medal in the flyweight event.

Josué Camacho Santiago is a Puerto Rican who was a world boxing champion. He was born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. His nickname is Dickie, and he was sometimes advertised as Dickie Camacho.

Wilfredo Méndez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who held the WBO mini flyweight title between August 2019 to December 2021.

Daniela Romina Bermúdez is an Argentine professional boxer. She is a former world champion in three weight classes, having held the WBO female bantamweight title twice between 2013 and 2020; the WBO female super-flyweight title from 2014 to 2017; and the IBF female junior-featherweight title twice between 2018 and 2020. She is the older sister of former light-flyweight world champion of boxing, Evelyn Nazarena Bermúdez.


Oscar Manuel Collazo is a Puerto Rican professional boxer and unified mini flyweight champion who has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) mini flyweight title since May 2023 and the World Boxing Association WBA and Ring magazine titles since November 2024.

The history of the sport of boxing in Puerto Rico is a varied and extensive one. Boxing is a major sport in the Caribbean country, and the sport has produced many champions for the island, both in the amateur and professional ranks, and among men and women fighters.

References

  1. WorldChamps1991
  2. Panamerican Games1991
  3. 1 2 OlympicGames1992
  4. 1 2 "Un combate salvaje" (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 2005-01-30. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  5. Lester Jiménez (2005-03-15). "Nelson Dieppa está súper solicitado". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Puerto Rico. Archived from the original on 2014-04-21.
  6. "El ex campeón mundial de boxeo Nelson Dieppa vence al mexicano Keb Baas" (in Spanish). Periodista Digital. 2005-12-18. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  7. 1 2 3 Carlos González (2006-05-27). "Neslon Dieppa dominó cómodo". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Puerto Rico. Archived from the original on 2014-04-21.
  8. Carlos González (2007-03-24). "Nelson Dieppa cayó, pero no se rindió". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  9. Carlos González (2008-03-26). "Le devolvería el campeonato". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  10. Mark Vester (2008-04-06). "Ivan Calderon Sweeps Dieppa, Solis Next?". Boxing Scene. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
Achievements
Vacant
Title last held by
Masibulele Makepula
WBO light flyweight champion
April 14, 2001 - April 30, 2005
Succeeded by