Juan Laporte, also known as Juan La Porte is a former boxer who was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico. In 1982, La Porte won the vacant WBC featherweight title, forcing undefeated Colombian Mario "Martillo" Miranda to quit on his stool. Throughout his 22-year-long career, La Porte fought some of the greatest fighters of each decade, including Hall of Fame members Salvador Sanchez, Eusebio Pedroza, Azumah Nelson, Wilfredo Gomez, Barry McGuigan, Kostya Tszyu & Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. He retired in 1999 with a record of 40–16, with many of his losses being highly competitive, and sometimes controversial, affairs.
The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation.
Fiel a La Vega is a Rock en Español band from Puerto Rico formed in 1994. The band consisted of members Tito Auger and Ricky Laureano, who come from the northern city of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, along with brothers Pedro and Jorge Arraiza, who come from the neighboring city of Vega Baja. Their hometown is what gave name to the band. Since 1996, they were joined by percussionist Papo Román, who left the band in 2006 to spend time with his family.
Antonio Cervantes is a Colombian boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1961 to 1983. He held the WBA and The Ring light welterweight title twice between 1972 and 1980.
Sports in Puerto Rico can be traced from the ceremonial competitions amongst the pre-Columbian Native Americans of the Arawak (Taíno) tribes who inhabited the island to the modern era in which sports activities consist of an organized physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose for competition. One of the sports which the Taíno's played was a ball game called "Batey". The "Batey" was played in U-shaped fields two teams; however, unlike the ball games of the modern era, the winners were treated like heroes and the losers were sacrificed.
Cangrejeros de Santurce is the name of several franchises sanctioned by the professional basketball league Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) of Puerto Rico. Named after Santurce, all versions have played out of San Juan. The first franchise was founded in 1918 and began active play in the BSN in 1956, winning titles in 1962 and 1968 before folding. The second iteration of the Cangrejeros played their home games at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum under the ownership of music industry executive Angelo Medina, winning five championships in a six-year span and another in 2007. This version remained active for another decade after winning its last championship. In 2021, a new franchise was approved under the name of Cangrejeros under the ownership of artist Bad Bunny and urban music entrepreneurs Noah Assad and Jonathan García. Teams bearing the name of Cangrejeros have won 8 championships and appeared in 14 BSN finals.
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez, better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe is considered to be possibly the best and most important singer and interpreter in the history of salsa music because he helped to establish the popularity of this musical genre in the decades of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. His personality, style and the qualities of his voice led him to a successful artistic career in the whole field of Latin music and salsa during the 1970s and 1980s. The cleanness and brightness of his voice, coupled with impeccable diction and the ability to sing long and fast phrases with total naturalness, made him one of the favorite singers of the Latin public.
Hiram Bithorn Stadium is a baseball park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, built in 1962 and designed by Puerto Rican architect Pedro Miranda. The stadium is home to the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Baseball League (LBPRC), and briefly was home to Major League Baseball's Montreal Expos during their final years.
Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Dallas Mavericks. The venue's capacity held accommodations for 17,000 for ice hockey spectators, and 18,190 for basketball spectators.
Mets deGuaynabo are a Puerto Rican professional basketball team based in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. The Mets compete in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) as a member of the league's B Division. Founded in 1935 as the original Cangrejeros of Santurce franchise, the team relocated to Guaynabo in 1976 and became the Guaynabo Mets. The Mets play their home games at Mario Morales Coliseum, named after Mario "Quijote" Morales, who led the team to its three championships during the 1980s. The Mets also reached the BSN finals in 1991 and 1993, losing both times to the Leones of Ponce.The team dissolved in 2015, but was reinstated with new ownership in 2019.
The Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot is the biggest indoor arena in Puerto Rico dedicated to entertainment. It is located at the Golden Mile of San Juan, the island capital. It is usually referred by Puerto Ricans as the Choliseo or Choli, which is a portmanteau of the words "Coliseo" and "Cholito", in reference to Don Cholito, one of José Miguel Agrelot's characters and Agrelot's own adopted nickname. It has consistently been ranked among the highest ticket-selling venues globally.
Nelson Dieppa-Gerena 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.
Cruz Manuel Hernández Santiago, known artistically as Manny Manuel, is a Puerto Rican musician and singer of merengue, bolero, and tropical music. He became famous first as a member of the group Los Sabrosos del Merengue, before launching a successful solo career in 1994.
Puya is a Puerto Rican progressive metal band. Formed in 1991, the band rose to prominence with their fusion of jazz, salsa and heavy metal.
Andres "Puppy" Hernandez is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who once fought Carlos Zarate for the World Boxing Council's world bantamweight title. Earlier in his career, he was known for being able to take many punches. His boxing nickname is "Puppy".
Enrique "Kiko" Solis is a former boxer from Puerto Rico, who in 1978 challenged Eusebio Pedroza of Panama for Pedroza's WBA's recognized world Featherweight championship. Solis is a member of a prolific Puerto Rican boxing family, his brothers being former WBA and Ring Magazine world Bantamweight champion Julian Solís, former WBC world Junior Lightweight title challenger Rafael Solis and Santos Solis, who once fought Wilfred Benítez as a professional and went ten rounds with him. He is from Caimito, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Josue Marquez Acevedo was a Puerto Rican who was once a world title challenging boxer. Not known for his punching power,, Marquez nevertheless gave many of the top boxers of his era trouble and managed to defeat a number of them.
Ramon Antonio Nery is a Dominican former professional boxer, who was once ranked in the top ten in the world among Flyweight boxers by the World Boxing Association, and who once fought for the WBA's world Flyweight championship. At a regional level, Nery was the Dominican Republic's national Flyweight champion. Nery was born with deafness, and his boxing nickname was "sordito", which means "(little) deaf (person)" in Spanish. Nery's condition meant he had to have special lights installed on the ring's corners when he fought; that way he could tell when a round began or finished.
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.
Leoncio Ortiz is a Mexican former professional boxer who once challenged Roberto Duran for the Panamanian's WBA's world Lightweight title, on Saturday, December 20, 1975, at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ortiz was beaten by a fifteenth-round knockout but he gained pundits and fans' respect by almost lasting the complete fifteen rounds distance against the hard-hitting legend. He was counted out by the referee when there were 12 seconds left in the last round.
