Carlos Cruz (boxer)

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Carlos Cruz
Born
Carlos Teófilo del Rosario Cruz

(1937-11-24)November 24, 1937
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
DiedFebruary 15, 1970(1970-02-15) (aged 32)
NationalityDominican
Statistics
Weight(s)Lightweight
Height5 ft 6+12 in (169 cm)
Reach68 in (173 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights57
Wins42
Wins by KO14
Losses13
Draws2

Carlos Teo Rosario Cruz (November 4, 1937 – February 15, 1970) was a boxer from the Dominican Republic. Cruz was world lightweight champion from 1968 to 1969. He is the older brother of former super bantamweight world champion of boxing, Leo Cruz.

Amateur career

Cruz claimed he didn't put on his first pair of boxing gloves until his 20th birthday. He fought as an amateur from 1957 to 1959, posting a 14–3 record.

Personal

Cruz's father, Francisco Rosario Almonte was an army officer in the Dominican military. Cruz met his wife, Mildred Ortiz in the town of Río Piedras in Puerto Rico. They were married in 1961 when Ortiz was 24 years old. Cruz had two children.

Cruz's younger brother, Leo Cruz, went on to become a world champion.[citation needed]

Pro career

He started his career as a professional boxer with a loss, being defeated by decision in eight rounds by Juan José Jiménez, October 23 of 1959 in Santo Domingo. His first win came on December 3 of that year, also in Santo Domingo, with a ten-round decision win over Rafael Acevedo.

After one more win in Santo Domingo, he moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. There, he posted a record of 7 wins and 2 losses before returning to Santo Domingo in 1962. Out of the 7 wins in Puerto Rico during that era, 5 were by knockout. In his return to Santo Domingo, he posted a decision win over Acevedo in a rematch. Towards the end of 1962, he started campaigning in the United States, particularly in New York. There, he boxed 5 times before returning to San Juan for another bout. He won 4 and drew 1 of those fights, all wins by decision.

He spent the first half of 1964 touring Australia, where he won 2 fights and lost one. He lost on points to Graham Dicker in Brisbane, stopped Guizani Rezgui in Sydney and outpointed Gilberto Biondi in Melbourne. Then he returned to Latin America, his first fight after arriving from Australia being a major step up in quality of opposition for him: In Caracas, he met fellow world champion boxer Carlos Morocho Hernández. He was knocked out in four rounds by Hernandez. On to Panama City, where he lost a ten-round decision to Julio Ruiz. He finished his year by beating Marcos Morales, a boxer of Puerto Rico during this era, at Santo Domingo.

In 1965, he was undefeated. He fought in St. Croix, in Mayagüez, in Caguas and in London among other places. He won all ten of his bouts that year.

He won 8 bouts, lost 1 and drew 1 in 1966. He drew with Jaime Valladares in Quito, and lost to Frankie Narvaez in San Juan. But he also beat former world title challenger Bunny Grant. In 1967, he avenged his loss to Narvaez, and went undefeated the rest of the year, securing his position as the world's number one challenger among Lightweights.

He won three more fights to begin 1968, and then, on June 29 in Santo Domingo, he was given his first chance to challenge for a world title. He became world Lightweight champion when he defeated Carlos Ortiz by a decision in fifteen rounds.

He defended the world title with a fifteen-round decision over Mando Ramos in Los Angeles, and then, he closed the year by winning a non-title bout in Tokyo, also by decision, in ten.

There was a rematch between Cruz and Ramos, also held in Los Angeles. The second time around, Ramos became world Lightweight champion by beating Cruz with an eleventh-round knockout. Cruz went on to win his next three bouts of 1969.

On January 17 of 1970, Cruz won his last fight. He beat Benito Juarez in San Juan by a decision in ten, and then returned to Santo Domingo.

Professional boxing record

57 fights 42 wins 13 losses
By knockout 14 2
By decision 28 10
By disqualification 0 1
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
57 Win 42–13–2 Benito Juarez UD 10 Jan 17, 1970 La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
56 Win 41–13–2 Victor Melendez UD 10 Oct 20, 1969 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
55 Win 40–13–2 Len Kesey TKO 4 (10) Oct 3, 1969 Country Club Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
54 Win 39–13–2 Grady Ponder PTS 10 Aug 9, 1969 San Juan, Puerto Rico
53 Loss 38–13–2 Mando Ramos TKO 11 (15) Feb 18, 1969 Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Lost WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
52 Win 38–12–2 Hidemori Tsujimoto UD 10 Dec 19, 1968 Korakuen Hall, Japan
51 Win 37–12–2 Mando Ramos UD 15 Sep 27, 1968 Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
50 Win 36–12–2 Carlos Ortiz SD 15 Jun 29, 1968 Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
49 Win 35–12–2 Julio Viera UD 10 Apr 15, 1968 Country Club Arena, San Juan, Puerto Rico
48 Win 34–12–2 Johnny Bean TKO 2 (10) Mar 3, 1968 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
47 Win 33–12–2 Chris Fernandez KO 9 (10) Jan 1, 1968 Kingston, Jamaica
46 Win 32–12–2 Kennedy Clark UD 10 Dec 11, 1967 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
45 Win 31–12–2 Grady Ponder PTS 10 Jun 23, 1967 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
44 Win 30–12–2 Frankie Narvaez PTS 10 May 5, 1967 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
43 Loss 29–12–2 Frankie Narvaez SD 10 Dec 12, 1966 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
42 Win 29–11–2 Fernand Simard RTD 10 Oct 1, 1966 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
41 Win 28–11–2 Vicente Milan Derado SD 10 Aug 20, 1966 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
40 Win 27–11–2 Bunny Grant UD 10 May 7, 1966 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
39 Draw 26–11–2 Jaime Valladares PTS 10 Apr 2, 1966 Plaza de Toros, Quito, Ecuador
38 Win 26–11–1 Vicente Milan Derado PTS 10 Sep 4, 1965 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
37 Win 25–11–1 Jose Chico Veliz PTS 10 Aug 14, 1965 Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
36 Win 24–11–1 Frankie Taylor PTS 10 Jul 6, 1965 Town Hall, Shoreditch, London, England, U.K.
35 Win 23–11–1 Daniel Berrios KO 1 (10) Jun 18, 1965 Caguas, Puerto Rico
34 Win 22–11–1 Alejandro Parra TKO 4 (10) Apr 3, 1965 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
33 Win 21–11–1 Criscencio Fernandez KO 3 (10) Feb 19, 1965 D.C. Canegata Stadium, Altona, U.S. Virgin Islands
32 Win 20–11–1 Marcos Morales TKO 2 (10) Dec 12, 1964 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
31 Loss 19–11–1 Julio Ruiz MD 10 Sep 20, 1964 Estadio Olimpico, Panama City, Panama
30 Loss 19–10–1 Carlos Morocho Hernández TKO 2 (10) Jun 1, 1964 Caracas, Venezuela
29 Win 19–9–1 Gilberto Biondi PTS 12 Mar 6, 1964 Festival Hall, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
28 Win 18–9–1 Guizani Rezgui TKO 11 (12) Mar 2, 1964 Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
27 Loss 17–9–1 Graham Dicker PTS 12 Feb 14, 1964 Festival Hall, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
26 Loss 17–8–1 Vicente Milan Derado PTS 10 Nov 1, 1963 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
25 Win 17–7–1 Johnny Bean PTS 10 Jul 6, 1963 San Juan, Puerto Rico
24 Win 16–7–1 George Foster PTS 8 Mar 2, 1963 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
23 Win 15–7–1 Roland Kellem UD 8 Feb 5, 1963 Sunnyside Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
22 Win 14–7–1 Calvin Woodland PTS 6 Jan 12, 1963 Sunnyside Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
21 Win 13–7–1 Candy Parilla PTS 6 Dec 18, 1962 Sunnyside Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
20 Draw 12–7–1 Freddie Jackson PTS 6 Nov 24, 1962 Gladiators' Arena, Totowa, New Jersey, U.S.
19 Win 12–7 Sammy Burgess PTS 10 Sep 14, 1962 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
18 Win 11–7 Alejandro Gonzalez PTS 6 Jun 1, 1962 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
17 Win 10–7 Rafael Acevedo UD 12 Feb 17, 1962 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
16 Win 9–7 Jose Aneiro TKO 8 (8) Jan 15, 1962 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
15 Win 8–7 Lionel Rivera TKO 8 (10) Oct 17, 1961 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
14 Loss 7–7 Daniel Berrios PTS 4 Aug 29, 1961 Channel 11 Studio, San Juan, Puerto Rico
13 Win 7–6 Gerardo Clemente PTS 8 Aug 26, 1961 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
12 Loss 6–6 Vernon Lynch PTS 10 May 26, 1961 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
11 Loss 6–5 Daniel Berrios DQ 2 (10) Feb 24, 1961 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
10 Win 6–4 Gerardo Clemente TKO 10 (10) Nov 25, 1960 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
9 Loss 5–4 Daniel Berrios PTS 10 Sep 16, 1960 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
8 Win 5–3 Lionel Rivera PTS 10 Sep 2, 1960 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
7 Loss 4–3 Marcos Morales SD 10 Jul 5, 1960 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
6 Win 4–2 Bob Ashford KO 3 (6) Jun 11, 1960 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
5 Win 3–2 Estaquio Gonzalez TKO 5 (6) May 29, 1960 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
4 Loss 2–2 Daniel Berrios PTS 10 May 6, 1960 Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
3 Win 2–1 Jesus M Serrano PTS 6 Mar 26, 1960 Coliseo San Rafael, Santo Domingo
2 Win 1–1 Rafael Acevedo PTS 10 Dec 3, 1959 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
1 Loss 0–1 Juan Jimenez PTS 8 Oct 23, 1959 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Death

On February 15, he was flying back to San Juan alongside his family for a fight against Roger Zami,[1] when their Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 plane crashed into the waters of the Caribbean shortly after take-off, killing Cruz,[2] his wife and two children, and the rest of the passengers, among which also were a large part of Puerto Rico's national women's volleyball team .

See also

References

  1. ^ Crash stills title hopes
  2. ^ "DOMINICAN PLANE, WITH 102, CRASHES". The New York Times. 16 February 1970. Retrieved 2022-06-04.

External links

Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA lightweight champion
June 29, 1968 – February 18, 1969
Succeeded by
WBC lightweight champion
June 29, 1968 – February 18, 1969
The Ring lightweight champion
June 29, 1968 – February 18, 1969
Undisputed lightweight champion
June 29, 1968 – February 18, 1969