Ricardo Mendoza Fortaleza (born April 18, 1951 in
Malate
Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms (L ...
,
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
) is a
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
-
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
retired
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
amateur
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
/amateur boxing
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
and boxing instructor. He currently lives in
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Early career
Ricardo fought in the
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
division. He has won a
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 1969 at the first Asian youth championships. He has won the only gold medal in Amateur Boxing for the Philippines in the 6th
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...
in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
and a
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
finish in the 1971 Asian Boxing Championship in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
. Ricardo was Philippine National Games champion in 1969-1974 and Manila
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...
champion in 1965-1967.
The Fortaleza brothers
Ricardo was one of the four famous Fortaleza brothers in the Philippines, they were all famous in the sport of boxing. The four consisted of Ricardo "Ric",
Reynaldo "Rey", Renato "Rene" and Rogelio "Roger". Although Ric was the most successful of the four, Rey, Rene and Roger were also successful boxers.
1972 Munich Olympics
Ricardo represented the Philippines at the
1972 Munich Olympics, losing to Mexico's
Alfonso Zamora
Alfonso Zamora Quiroz (born 9 February 1954) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1980. He was the Lineal championship, Lineal and World Boxing Association, WBA bantamweight champion, and made five title defenses. As ...
by a second-round knockout in the Round of 32.
Coaching
Fortaleza became the Philippines boxing team coach from 1976 to 1993. He led the Philippine team at the
1992 Olympic Games in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, the President's Cup in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, the King's Cup in Bangkok, the
Southeast Asian Games
The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...
in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, the second World Boxing championships in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, the Asian Games in Bangkok, the Inter-Cup tournament in
Schriesheim
Schriesheim (South Franconian: ''Schriese'') is a town located in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region.
Geography
Schriesheim lies on the Bergstraße, at the western edge ...
(
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
), the Acropolis Cup in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, and several other international tournaments.
Fortaleza also trained boxers from different parts of the world. He helped introduced the sport of Amateur Boxing in
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
, he was assigned at the
Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex
The Sultan Qaboos Stadium at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex ( ar, مجمع السلطان قابوس الرياضي), also known locally as Boshar ( ar, بوشر), is a government-owned multi-purpose stadium in the Boshar district of Muscat, ...
. He coached the Oman boxing team between 1986 and 1990, and led the team to the
1988 Olympic Games
1988 Olympics refers to both:
*The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
*The 1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
.
Fortaleza acted as boxing coach at
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
College of Physical Education in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
.
Australia
Fortaleza migrated with his family to Australia in 2000.
[Pimentel, Jaime K. (2001),]
Australia nets top Filipino amateur boxing coach
, ''emanila.com'' He volunteered at the Sydney Olympic games in boxing tournaments.
Championships and accomplishments
* Gold medal - 1st Asian Youth Amateur Boxing Tournament- Tokyo Japan
* Gold medal - 6th Asian Games - Bangkok Thailand
* Silver medal - 1971 Asian Boxing Champhionship - Tehran Iran
*
Olympian - 1972 Munich Olympics
* Philippines' Amateur Boxer of the year - 1970, 1971 and 1972
Personal life
Ricardo Fortaleza is the father of Musician Eric Fortaleza.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortaleza, Ricardo
1951 births
Living people
Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Olympic boxers of the Philippines
Bantamweight boxers
Boxing trainers
People from Malate, Manila
Sportspeople from Manila
Boxers from Sydney
Boxers from Metro Manila
Asian Games medalists in boxing
Boxers at the 1970 Asian Games
Australian male boxers
Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines
Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games
Boxers at the 1974 Asian Games
Filipino male boxers
Southeast Asian Games medalists in boxing