Danny Santiago (born February 21, 1973) is an 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 ...
who competed from 1997 to 2016. He challenged three times for a
light heavyweight world title: the
WBO/
lineal titles in January 2007, the
IBO title in December 2007, and the
WBA/IBA titles in 2011.
Amateur career
Santiago had a strong amateur career, including the following highlights:
*1995 New York City daily news Golden gloves champion
*1995 empire state champion
*1995 metro champion
*1994 Florida golden glove champion
*1994 Sunshine state champion
*1995 Northeastern Regional Champion (178 Lbs.)
*1996 Southeastern Regional Champion (178 Lbs.)
*1996 Representative of Florida Bronze Medalists at 178Lbs, National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Denver, Colorado
*1996 International competition U.S.A. vs. Sweden representative of U.S.A. Silver Medalists at 178Lbs
Professional career
In 1997, Danny made his professional debut with a first round knockout of Michael Watkins. Between 1997 and 2002, Danny built a record of 22-0 and earned a shot at the WBA Fedelatin Light Heavyweight Title, where he suffered his first loss against Rocky Torres. By 2004, Danny defeated the highly ranked
Elvir Muriqi in Madison Square Gardens with a devastating first round knockout.
Continually rated as a top light heavy-weight, Danny has faced some of best boxers of this millennium in world title fights, including:
Zsolt Erdei
Zsolt Erdei (born 31 May 1974) is a Hungarian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO and lineal light-heavyweight titles from 2004 to 2009 (making eleven c ...
(WBO World Light Heavyweight Champion and WBC Cruiserweight Champion),
Antonio Tarver
Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IB ...
, (WBC, WBA, IBF, and The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion and IBO World Light Heavyweight Champion),
Beibut Shumenov (WBA World Light Heavyweight Champion and IBA Light Heavyweight Champion), and
Danny Green (WBA Super Middleweight Champion and Light Heavyweight World Champion and IBO World Cruiserweight Champion).
In 2010, Santiago was scheduled to fight
Roy Jones, Jr, but the fight was cancelled due to an injury to Jones.
Santiago was a contestant on ESPN’s very popular television series The Contender in 2007. Santiago owned and operated a successful boxing gym which served as a popular training ground world champions, including
Tavoris Cloud
Tavoris Karod Cloud (born January 10, 1982) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF light heavyweight title from 2009 to 2013.
Early life
When interviewed by ESPN, Tavoris Cloud explained that he had a tough childhood. His neighbourh ...
,
Ricardo Mayorga
Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez (born October 3, 1973) is a Nicaraguan professional boxer and former mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Unified), WBC, ''Ring'' magazine, and li ...
, and
Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, a ...
.
After his retirement from the ring, Santiago relocated to
Colombia where he is a successful trainer and promoter.
In 2021, Santiago was inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago, Danny
Boxers from New York City
Super-middleweight boxers
1973 births
Living people
Sportspeople from the Bronx
American male boxers