Argenis Alexander Méndez Zapata (born July 3, 1986) is a

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 ...

best known for winning the silver medal at the junior world championships in 2004. He is a former International Boxing Federation Super Featherweight champion.

Early life and amateur career

Argenis Mendez started boxing at the age of 12. Mendez won featherweight silver at the World Junior Championships 2004 where he beat Eddy Flores Cotilla but lost to Eduard Ambartsumyan, in the final. He lost in the first round of the Olympics in 2004 against the Ukrainian, Maksym Tretyak. Mendez qualified for the Olympic Games by ending up in first place at the 2nd AIBA American 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2005, he beat

Abner Cotto Abner Cotto Román (born August 10, 1987) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who currently competes in the lightweight division. He is a member of the Cotto family, which has produced a professional world champion and multiple amateur ...

on his way to winning the PanAm Championships). He also holds several wins over

Carlos Velásquez Carlos Iván Velásquez (born August 4, 1984, in Cataño, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican former boxer best known for winning the featherweight title at the 20.Central American and Caribbean Games 2006 in Cartagena. He is the twin brother of Ju ...

. Defeated Naskali Jyri Jarmo on points, 20-8 at the

2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships The men's 2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Mianyang, China, from November 13 to November 20. The competition was organised by the world's governing body for amateur boxing AIBA. Medal winners Medal table External li ...

, but lost early against Russian amateur standout

Aleksei Tishchenko Aleksei Viktorovich Tishchenko (russian: Алексей Викторович Тищенко; born 29 May 1984) is a former Russian Olympic boxer best known to dominate the lower weight classes in the last years winning numerous ti ...

who had beaten him earlier in the year.

Professional career

He debuted in 2006, knocking out Jose Fonseco in the second round at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Achieving a 12 fight win streak, mainly at super featherweight, until losing a close split decision to Jaime Sandoval, wherein he knocked down Sandoval in the first round. He came back to win 6 consecutive fight including 12-round decision victories over fringe contender Martin Honorio and former

IBF 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 ...

super featherweight champion Cassius Baloyi. Mendez fought Honorio on May 8, 2010, in the

StubHub Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...

in Carson, California, winning a close majority decision with scores, of 114-114,116-112, and 116-112. Honorio pressured Mendez using body attacks, while Mendez used his superior hand speed and combination punching to counter Honorio. In an IBF super featherweight title eliminator, Mendez fought Baloyi in

Brakpan Brakpan is a mining town in the Gauteng province of South Africa. History The name Brakpan comes from a small pan on a farm called Weltevreden, which was filled with very brackish water and was probably referred to as the "brakpan," and it was nea ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

on January 29, 2011. Mendez won a unanimous decision victory, with scores of 117-110, 117-110, and 117-111, outclassing the former champion with his speed, and combination punching. Argenis Mendez finally got his chance for the vacant IBF super featherweight against former

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

super featherweight champion and

Jorge Linares Jorge Luis Linares Palencia (born 22 August 1985) is a Venezuelan professional boxer. He has held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from 2007 to 2008; the WBA super featherweight title from 20 ...

conqueror Juan Carlos Salgado. On September 10, 2011, at

Zapopan Zapopan () is a city and municipality located in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Part of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, the population of Zapopan city proper makes it the second largest city in the state, very close behind the population of ...

, Jalisco,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Mendez lost a close decision victory to Salgado. Both boxers landed good combination punches, and fought competitively. Mendez lost a point in the fifth round for hitting behind the head, but was able to drop Salgado in the final round. He had a quick bounce-back victory over Alex Perez, on November 18, 2011, in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, winning a knockout in the second round. In April 2012, Castillo signed for the boxing promoter Acquinity Sports alongside compatriots Félix Díaz and Gilbert Lenin Castillo.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Argenis 1986 births Living people People from San Juan de la Maguana Pan American Games competitors for the Dominican Republic Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic male boxers Super-featherweight boxers Lightweight boxers World super-featherweight boxing champions International Boxing Federation champions

Early life and amateur career

Professional career

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links