“About a year ago the thought that we may do something special began crossing my mind,” said Garcia. Sixteen years later, the two are on the verge of making history for their country. “He was about 12, and I was 14,” Garcia recalled. Puello soon found himself in Marino Minaya’s gym alongside Hector Garcia. Why pay to play ball when I can box for free and potentially make money from it?” he asked his father. “I told him,” Puello said, “the league was too expensive. When he was young, Puello’s father looked to enroll him in one of the baseball leagues. Known for its delicious fruits and snow-colored churches, most of the youth aspire to be baseball players. San Juan de la Maguana is an agricultural city closer to Haiti than to Santo Domingo. ![]() Lately, they have been able to develop world class skills while staying at home. Some relocated to Puerto Rico or New York. “ There is a lot of talent in the Dominican Republic ” Undefeated Super Lightweight Contender - Alberto PuelloĬruz, and all the other Dominican fighters who cracked the rankings, had to do what Carlos Perez did and fight on the road. ![]() He remains the only former champion to have beaten Carlos Ortiz who is not in the Hall of Fame. Political correspondent, Tomas Montas, wrote that, because of the hostile political environment that remained for years following the assassination of Rafael Trujillo, “people were afraid to leave their homes.”Īfter losing his title because of a cut, Cruz died tragically in a plane crash. The crowd, described as enthusiastic, was much smaller than the promoter had hoped for. Held at a baseball stadium in the nation’s capital, Cruz dropped and then walked down defending champion Carlos Ortiz. Unfortunately, not that many people witnessed it. A career of fighting on the road and sleeping in unfamiliar beds came to an end one night in 1960 at a small diner in the Dominican Republic, when an ongoing street beef ended with him stabbed multiple times and slumped over an unfinished plate of bifstek encebollado.Ĭarlos Teofilo Cruz was the country’s first champion and his title winning performance in 1968 remains the highlight of Dominican boxing. Because of a lack of facilities at home, Perez’s biggest wins were in Cuba. The 5-foot-7 middleweight likely would be a welterweight with today’s improved training techniques. Perez was a hard-hitting lefty with a penchant for street-fighting. The first Dominican boxer to crack the world rankings was Carlos Perez in the 1940s. ![]() Puello and Garcia share the same sentiment: They both hope their fights opens more doors for boxers from the Dominican Republic and that the sport in the country receives more attention and support-something that was lacking in the country’s past. In the other match, Hector Garcia (15-0, 10 KOs) also from San Juan de la Maguana, challenges WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Roger Gutierrez (26-3-1, 20 KOs.) If both win, it would be the greatest night of boxing the Dominican Republic has ever seen, according to both.Īlberto Puello (20-0, 10 KOs) of San Juan de la Maguana and Batyr Akhmedov (9-1, 8 KOs) square off for the vacant WBA Super Lightweight World Championship. Two of those fighters are fighting for a title Saturday night. Dominican trainers learned on the job too and the lessons learned were passed on to the next generation. Instead, they picked up paychecks and experience. The fighters were capable but, because they lacked world class facilities, did not harbor any world champion aspirations. Numerous prospects padded their records against Dominican boxers who sported more losses than wins. Only a few years ago, boxing insiders thought of the Dominican Republic as a place with fighters who looked good while losing. PT) which features a pair of title matches that could make for a historic night for a country that has quietly become a boxing hotbed. The intriguing crossroads bout headlines a Premier Boxing Champions event on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. and Sergey Lipinets collide in a WBC Super Lightweight title eliminator at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. This Saturday August 20th, former champions Omar Figueroa Jr.
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