Joselito Velázquez Altamirano (born 30 September 1993) is a Mexican

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 ...

. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

he won gold medals at the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

, and represented Mexico at the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

Early life

Velázquez was born in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico, but had to leave at the age of two because of his family's financial needs. He then moved with his family to Cancun, where he grew up. His father worked as a cab driver and a baker, while his mother worked at a daycare. Velázquez was introduced to boxing through his older brother, who was a member of the

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...

state boxing team. He decided to practice the sport after seeing his brother compete in a national tournament. Joselito also played soccer as a teenager. He was part of

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

's U-14 team. However, he could not make it to a professional level because of his slight build.

Amateur career

Velázquez was the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

gold medalist in 2011 and 2015 in the

light flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920 ...

category. He defeated Cuban amateur world champions

Yosvany Veitía Yosvany Veitía Soto (also spelled Yosbany, born 12 March 1992) is a Cuban amateur boxer in the light flyweight division who competed at the 2012 Olympics. He is a southpaw. Career At the 2010 Youth World Amateur Boxing Championships he won B ...

and

Joahnys Argilagos Joahnys Oscar Argilagos Perez (born 11 January 1997) is a Cuban professional boxer. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics as well as winning a gold medal at both the 2015 and 2017 World Championships. Argilagos took ...

in each competition's final match. Velázquez was the first athlete from Cancún to compete in the Olympic Games. Months before the 2016 Olympics, Velázquez suffered a dislocated shoulder that did not let him practice nor compete for two months. He was reportedly not healthy in the lead-up to the Olympics but he won the

2016 APB and WSB Olympic Qualifier The 2016 APB and WSB Olympic Qualifier for the boxing tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was held between July 3 and July 8, 2016 in Vargas, Venezuela. Medal table Qualified boxers Boxer qualif ...

to earn a spot. According to several analysts, he was part of the most talented generation of Mexican boxers at the amateur level. Velazquez won his first Olympic fight against Argentinian Leonardo Blanc. He'd lose in the next round against the eventual gold medalist, Uzbek

Hasanboy Dusmatov Hasanboy Marfjon Ugli Dusmatov (born 24 June 1993) is an Uzbekistani professional boxer. As an amateur, Dusmatov won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2013 Summer Universiade as a light flyweight. He also three-time Asian Amateur Boxi ...

. As an amateur, Velázquez accrued a 138-40 record. Analysts see him as a technical boxer with speed in hands and legs, with ability to work in short distances. He's quoted

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...

as his role model.

Professional career

Velázquez turned professional in October 2016. He is represented by Teiken Promotions. His manager is Frank Espinoza and he is coached by Francisco Bonilla. Velázquez ran into some controversy in his 4th pro bout, as the referee incorrectly gave Erick Zamora a count following a low blow from Velázquez. The referee declared the contest a KO win for the former Olympian, as Zamora squirmed in the floor in pain.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Velazquez, Joselito 1993 births Living people Mexican male boxers Olympic boxers for Mexico Boxers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2011 Pan American Games Boxers at the 2015 Pan American Games Place of birth missing (living people) Pan American Games medalists in boxing Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico People from Cancún Sportspeople from Quintana Roo Light-flyweight boxers Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century Mexican people