Angel Manfredy (born October 30, 1974) is a Puerto Rican-American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. Angel Manfredy was a popular fighter in the late 1990s.

Personal

Manfredy, nicknamed ''El Diablo'' (''The Devil'') because of his reckless lifestyle and of his boxing style converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

after trying to commit suicide in his bed while on

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. He wears a tattoo of the

Puerto Rican Flag The flag of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Bandera de Puerto Rico) represents and symbolizes Puerto Rico and its people. The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be traced to 1868, whe ...

on his shoulder. Also he has a tattoo of the cross and a naked lady.

Amateur career

Manfredy had an amateur record of 48–8.

Professional career

Manfredy was known for his walk-ins to his matches wearing a

latex mask A rubber mask is a mask made of rubber. Typically, these are made of latex or silicone rubber and designed to be pulled over the head as a form of theatrical makeup or disguise. The theatrical makeup used by Michael Crawford when he played the Ph ...

depicting

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

, which he used until his fight with Floyd Mayweather and conversion to Apostolic Pentecostalism. During his career, Manfredy defeated notable fighters, such as

Arturo Gatti Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super ...

(by technical

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

Ivan Robinson Ivan "Mighty" Robinson (born February 27, 1971 in Philadelphia) is a boxer who has compiled a record of 36-12-2 (12 KOs) since becoming a professional in 1992. He challenged once for the IBF lightweight title in 1996. Background Born and raise ...

(by

Jorge Páez Jorge Adolfo Páez (born October 27, 1965) is a Mexican actor, circus performer and former professional boxer. In boxing he held the WBO and IBF featherweight titles. Paez's nickname of ''"El Maromero"'' is in honor of the somersault (referred ...

, and Julio Díaz (by a split decision). He also fought notables

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...

Paul Spadafora Paul Ross Spadafora (born September 5, 1975) is an American retired professional boxer. He is the former IBF lightweight champion of the world, and has challenged once for a light welterweight world title. Personal background Known as "The Pitt ...

and

Diego Corrales Diego "Chico" Corrales Jr. (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007. He was a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, having held the IBF super featherweight title from 199 ...

. A frequent contender, Manfredy was a former

WBU The World Boxing Union (WBU) was a boxing sanctioning body. The original WBU was founded in January 1995 by IBF European representative, boxing journalist, actor and former holder of the title of Britain's heaviest man Jon W. Robinson. It sa ...

Super Featherweight champion, but lost in each of four attempts to capture a

World Title A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. Manfredy currently has a record of 43-8-1 (32 knockouts). Manfredy lost two of his first five fights, but then won 23 in a row, including wins over former champions such as

Calvin Grove Calvin Grove (born August 5, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who was the Featherweight champion of the world. Professional career Grove turned pro in 1982 and in 1988 captured the IBF featherweight title with a TKO over Antonio R ...

, and Jorge Páez, and top contenders such as

Wilson Rodriguez Wilson Rodríguez (born 1966-02-04 in Santiago, Dominican Republic) is a retired professional boxer, best known for his 1996 fight with Arturo Gatti (a runner up for ''Ring Magazines 1996 Fight of the Year) and his reign as IBF Inter-Continent ...

, before landing his first major fight against Gatti, in the latter's hometown of Atlantic City. Manfredy, who was an underdog, dominated the fight, knocking Gatti down in the third round, and eventually stopping him on cuts in round 8. Following this fight, Manfredy fought twice before fighting

in a major

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

television event. Manfredy was stopped in the second round after a barrage of punches. Manfredy called the stoppage premature and stated he was not injured. This was one of Manfredy's first fights in his new Christian personality, and celebrated having

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

appear at the match singing for him during his walk-in. Following this fight, Manfredy knocked out

in what had been HBO's Boxing After Dark's highest-rated show of 1999. Manfredy then received another world title shot against Stevie Johnston in 1999, but was thoroughly outboxed. In 2002 Manfredy challenged Paul Spadafora for the

International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

World lightweight title. Spadafora beat Manfredy in a close decision. Manfredy last fought in 2004.

Training and Promoting

In 2017 Manfredy took a position as a trainer and promoter in

Crown Point, Indiana Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 33,899 at the 2020 census. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became the first settlers to ...

in a gym owned by boxer Ricky Carr.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manfredy, Angel 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana American boxers of Latin American descent Boxers from Indiana Puerto Rican boxers Converts to Christianity Lightweight boxers