Roel Velasco (born June 26, 1969 in

Bago Bago may refer to: Places Myanmar * Bago, Myanmar, a city and the capital of the Bago Region * Bago District, a district of the Bago Region * Bago Region an administrative region * Bago River, a river * Bago Yoma or Pegu Range, a mountain rang ...

, Negros Occidental) is a retired boxer from the

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 ...

. He competed 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, ...

(– 48 kg) division during the late 1980s, early 1990s. He represented his native country of the Philippines at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, Spain, where he won the bronze medal. In the semi-finals he was stopped by

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

's eventual winner

Rogelio Marcelo Rogelio Marcelo García (born June 11, 1965 in Guantánamo) is a retired boxer from Cuba, who competed in the light flyweight (– 48 kg) division during the early 1990s. Marcelo lost in 1989 and 1991 at the world championships finals to A ...

. He is the elder brother of

Mansueto Velasco Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco Jr. (born January 10, 1974) is a Filipino retired boxer, comedian and actor from Bago, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Competing in the 48 kg category he won a gold medal at the 1994 Asian Games and a silver at the 1 ...

, who won the silver medal at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in the same weight division. Roel won the silver medal at the

1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships The Men's 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary from October 18 to October 26. The ninth edition of this competition, a year after the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, ...

. Roel Velasco is the only Filipino to win a medal in the Goodwill Games by snatching the bronze in the light-flyweight division in boxing in the 1998 New York edition. 1997 was a banner year for Velasco as he added the gold medals in the 1st Muhamad Ali Invitational Boxing Championships in Kentucky, the Italian Boxing Championships and the Roberto Balado Cup in Cuba to his World Championship hardware. Velasco is currently serving with the Philippine Navy with the rank of Petty Officer First Class (P01) while doing double duty as a coach with the Philippine Boxing Team. As a trainer, Roel is known for his way of selecting his pupils. As he welcomes anyone who wants to learn from him. He is also known to have an interest in training inexperienced or slow learners stating that: ''"Kahit na anong hina ng isang boxer basta masipag sa training, siya ay gagaling na pwede pang higitan ang isang boxer na may talento."'' ("Even if a boxer is slow learner, he/she can grow into a strong fighter as long as he/she is dedicated to his/her training and can even surpass the strength of a talented boxer.")

Retirement

Roel retired from boxing around 2001 and he's now currently a boxing trainer to younger boxers who want become the next boxing champion.

Olympic results

*Defeated James Wanene (Kenya) 16–1 *Defeated

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

(India) 15–6 *Defeated

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

(Great Britain) 7–6 *Lost to

(Cuba) RSC 1 (1:36)

References

databaseOlympics.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco, Roel 1972 births Living people Olympic boxers of the Philippines Boxers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the Philippines Boxers from Negros Occidental Olympic medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1998 Asian Games Filipino male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Goodwill Games medalists in boxing Light-flyweight boxers Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Philippine Sports Hall of Fame inductees