Juan Pedro de la Rosa (born August 7, 1986) 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 ...

. He is the brother of welterweight boxer James de la Rosa.

Personal life

De la Rosa's father is Mexican and his mother is an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

. His paternal grandfather played a pivotal role in his formative years and, as a tribute, De la Rosa wears his portrait in a

lanyard A lanyard is a cord, length of webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, and activation and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lower ...

around his neck just before and after every fight.

Professional career

De la Rosa turned professional at the age of 15.

''The Contender''

He was the youngest contestant on

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show '' The Contender'' at the age of 18. On the show, he was placed on the "East Coast" team and fought

Tarick Salmaci Tarick Salmaci (born February 28, 1972) is a Lebanese-American former professional boxer and North American Boxing Organization (NABO) middleweight champion. He was one of 16 boxers chosen worldwide to participate on season 1 of NBC's reality te ...

in the second to last First Round fight. This bout of Youth versus Experience and was won by the young Mexican. Juan later drew criticism for allowing himself to be withdrawn from the competition with apparently minor injuries. His withdrawal left room for

Ahmed Khaddour Ahmad "Babyface" Kaddour (born January 1, 1982, Lebanon) is a professional boxer. Personal life Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, Kaddour's parents fled the 1982 Lebanon War and Ahmad grew up in Denmark where he got his start in boxing. He has moved b ...

to strut his way back into the show. Since starring on ''The Contender'', De la Rosa's promise has somewhat diminished. Although he has continued to fight, his two losses to Mikel Williams have led some to question whether he has been a protected fighter. De la Rosa lost to Mexican veteran Fernando Vela via split decision at the Casa de Amistad in

Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than and is the second-largest city in ...

in March 2008, returned a year later to defeat a solid journeyman Guadalupe Martínez. He was also scheduled to fight Glen Tapia on October 27, 2012 but pulled out 2 weeks before the fight citing an injury. On November 2, 2013 De la Rosa finally made his return to the ring, after more than 4 1/2 years away from competition, in the co-main event at

State Farm Arena State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks. It also served as home to the National Hockey Leag ...

Hildalgo Hidalgo (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Hidalgo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Hidalgo) is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is di ...

Texas. De la Rosa fought toe-to-toe with undefeated Anatoli Muratov until Muratov folded under De la Rosa's brutal body attack in the 5th round.

Professional boxing record

References

External links