Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the WBC, Ring magazine and lineal lightweight titles between 2006 and 2008. As an amateur, Casamayor won a gold medal in the bantamweight division at the 1992 Olympics, after which he defected to the United States on the eve of the 1996 Olympics.

Joel Casamayor
Born
Joel Casamayor Johnson

(1971-07-12) July 12, 1971 (age 53)
Nationality
  • Cuban
  • American
Other namesEl Cepillo ("The Brush")
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[1]
Reach69 in (175 cm)[1]
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights45
Wins38
Wins by KO22
Losses6
Draws1
Medal record
Representing  Cuba
Men's amateur boxing
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Bantamweight
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1993 Tampere Bantamweight
Central American and Caribbean Games
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Mexico City Bantamweight
Goodwill Games
Silver medal – second place 1994 Saint Petersburg Featherweight

Amateur career

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Casamayor's amateur record stands at 363 wins and 30 losses.[2]

Professional career

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He won the NABF Super Featherweight title in 1999 by beating Jose Luis Noyola. Later that year, he won the WBA Super Featherweight title by stopping Jong-Kwon Baek in 5 rounds. In 2002, he lost that title in a controversial[why?] unification bout with WBO champion Acelino Freitas. At one point in the fight, Casamayor slipped and the referee ruled it a knockdown. Casamayor also had a point deducted for a late hit. Many believe Casamayor should have won the fight.[citation needed] In 2004, Diego Corrales, whom Casamayor stopped in 2003 for the Vacant IBA super featherweight title, defeated him for the vacant WBO Super Featherweight title via a very close and controversial decision. Casamayor failed to take the WBC Lightweight title from José Luis Castillo later that year because the judges scored what seemed to be a clear win for Casamayor over Castillo. After the disputed loss to Castillo, Casamayor's career appeared to be in a downward spiral and he was set up with undefeated rising prospect Almazbek Raiymkulov in June 2005. In a close, spirited battle the bout ended in a draw, with many believing that Casamayor's best days were behind him.

After two victories against little known opposition, in October 2006, Casamayor yet again took on the popular Diego Corrales, and defeated him by split decision, winning the WBC Lightweight title and recognition as the world lightweight champion by Ring Magazine. He was stripped of the WBC title for signing to fight then WBO lightweight champion Freitas rather than defend against his mandatory challenger, WBC interim champion David Díaz. Although the fight with Freitas never took place, David Díaz was still named WBC champion and Freitas went on to fight WBA champion Juan Díaz, losing via a 9th-round TKO.

After Casamayor threatened the WBC with legal action, he was named as their interim champ. He defended the interim championship as well as The Ring's title against Jose Armando Santa Cruz on November 11, 2007 and won a controversial split decision.

The WBC removed Casamayor's interim title when, instead of fighting a rematch with Santa Cruz, he signed to fight undefeated Michael Katsidis, the WBO interim lightweight titlist. On March 22, 2008, in a great battle, Casamayor became the first man to defeat the Australian Katsidis when he won the fight with a TKO in the 10th round. With the win, Casamayor retained his Ring Magazine world title and added the WBO interim championship to his collection.

Casamayor vs. Marquez

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Casamayor was defeated by Juan Manuel Márquez on September 13, 2008. Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KOs) by Knockout in the 11th round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise. In the first four rounds of the bout, Marquez continually walked into counter lefts from Casamayor. It took Marquez until the fifth round to be able to find the range with his right hand. By the fifth round, a cut over Casamayor's right eye was opened from a clash of heads. Rounds five, six, seven and eight were rounds where Marquez landed straight punches from the outside, but he was also nailed by Casamayor whenever he lunged forward. Two minutes into the eleventh round, Casamayor was knocked down by a right hand as he pulled away from an intense exchange. Casamayor got up and immediately tried to smother Marquez, but Marquez let his hands go in furious combination. Casamayor swung back, but he went down again with about 7 seconds left in the round. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in and stopped the fight before Casamayor had a chance to stand up again. This caused some anger from fans, however, Casamayor was gracious in defeat and said, "Marquez was the best this night." The official judges had the fight scored 95-95, 95-95, and 97-93 for Marquez.[3]

Casamayor is a unionized boxer, a member of the Joint Association of Boxers.

Comeback

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On November 6, 2009, Casamayor beat Jason Davis by unanimous decision.[4]

Casamayor fought Mexican American Robert Guerrero at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, on July 31, 2010. The 10 round bout was an undercard of the Juan Manuel Márquez vs. Juan Díaz II event.[5] The 39-year-old pugilist lost the match by unanimous decision: 98–89, 98–89, 97–90. Guerrero rocked Casamayor throughout the fight, sending him down in the second round. The Cuban got up and looked exhausted after two rounds. He recovered in the next rounds but Guerrero continued to put pressure, landing several combinations and outboxing him. In the last minute of the final round, the Cuban engaged on the offensive, with Guerrero being knocked down for the first time in his professional career.[6]

Professional boxing record

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45 fights 38 wins 6 losses
By knockout 22 2
By decision 16 4
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
45 Loss 38–6–1 Timothy Bradley TKO 8 (12), 2:59 Nov 12, 2011 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. For WBO junior welterweight title
44 Win 38–5–1 Manuel Leyva SD 10 Mar 11, 2011 Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
43 Loss 37–5–1 Robert Guerrero UD 10 Jul 31, 2010 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
42 Win 37–4–1 Jason Davis UD 8 Nov 6, 2009 Pearl Concert Theater, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
41 Loss 36–4–1 Juan Manuel Márquez TKO 11 (12), 2:55 Sep 13, 2008 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Lost The Ring lightweight title
40 Win 36–3–1 Michael Katsidis TKO 10 (12), 0:30 Mar 22, 2008 Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S. Retained The Ring lightweight title;
Won WBO interim lightweight title
39 Win 35–3–1 José Santa Cruz SD 12 Nov 10, 2007 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Retained WBC interim and The Ring lightweight titles
38 Win 34–3–1 Diego Corrales SD 12 Oct 7, 2006 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Won The Ring and vacant WBC lightweight titles
37 Win 33–3–1 Lamont Pearson TKO 9 (10), 0:44 Jul 7, 2006 Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
36 Win 32–3–1 Antonio Ramirez KO 5 (10), 0:26 Feb 24, 2006 Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
35 Draw 31–3–1 Almazbek Raiymkulov SD 12 Jun 11, 2005 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
34 Loss 31–3 José Luis Castillo SD 12 Dec 4, 2004 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. For WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
33 Win 31–2 Daniel Seda UD 10 Jul 3, 2004 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, U.S.
32 Loss 30–2 Diego Corrales SD 12 Mar 6, 2004 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S. Lost IBA super featherweight title;
For vacant WBO super featherweight title
31 Win 30–1 Diego Corrales TKO 6 (12), 3:00 Oct 4, 2003 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Won vacant IBA super featherweight title
30 Win 29–1 Nate Campbell UD 10 Jan 25, 2003 Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.
29 Win 28–1 Yoni Vargas TKO 5 (10), 2:28 Dec 20, 2002 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, U.S.
28 Win 27–1 Juan Jose Arias TKO 8 (10), 1:44 Jun 8, 2002 The Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
27 Loss 26–1 Acelino Freitas UD 12 Jan 12, 2002 Cox Pavilion, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Lost WBA super featherweight title;
For WBO super featherweight title
26 Win 26–0 Joe Morales TKO 8 (12), 2:04 Sep 29, 2001 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S. Retained WBA super featherweight title
25 Win 25–0 Edwin Santana UD 12 May 5, 2001 Silver Star Hotel and Casino, Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S. Retained WBA super featherweight title
24 Win 24–0 Robert Garcia TKO 9 (12), 1:14 Jan 6, 2001 Texas Station, North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBA super featherweight title
23 Win 23–0 Radford Beasley TKO 5 (12), 0:52 Sep 16, 2000 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBA super featherweight title
22 Win 22–0 Bernard Harris UD 10 Jul 22, 2000 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, U.S.
21 Win 21–0 Baek Jong-kwon TKO 5 (12), 2:18 May 21, 2000 Harrah's, North Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Won WBA super featherweight title
20 Win 20–0 David Santos UD 12 Nov 20, 1999 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S. Retained WBA interim super featherweight title
19 Win 19–0 Luis Enrique Valenzuela TKO 2 (10), 2:26 Aug 21, 1999 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S.
18 Win 18–0 Antonio Hernández UD 12 Jun 19, 1999 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S. Won WBA interim super featherweight title
17 Win 17–0 Jay Cantù KO 6 (10), 1:02 Apr 18, 1999 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S.
16 Win 16–0 Russell Stoner Jones UD 10 Mar 14, 1999 Pueblo, Colorado, U.S.
15 Win 15–0 Jose Luis Noyola UD 12 Jan 30, 1999 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S. Won vacant NABF super featherweight title
14 Win 14–0 Raymond Flores TKO 2 (6), 2:59 Nov 13, 1998 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Eugene Johnson UD 6 Sep 26, 1998 Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 Miguel Figueroa TKO 2 (6) Aug 22, 1998 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 Gary Triano TKO 4 (6), 0:59 Jul 21, 1998 Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Javier Diaz UD 8 Jan 23, 1998 Order Sons of Italy, Lake Worth, Florida, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Julio Gervacio TKO 2 (10), 1:27 Oct 4, 1997 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Pat Chavez UD 6 Aug 19, 1997 Convention Center, Austin, Texas, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Salvador Montes TKO 2 (4), 2:15 Jul 12, 1997 Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Raul Munoz TKO 1 (6), 1:49 May 4, 1997 Circus Maximus Showroom, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Francisco Valdez TKO 3 (6), 1:49 Apr 18, 1997 Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Vidal Padilla TKO 1 (4) Jan 18, 1997 San Juan, Puerto Rico
3 Win 3–0 Roberto Sierra KO 1 (4), 1:48 Dec 14, 1996 Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Oscar Junior Gonzalez UD 4 Nov 1, 1996 Miami, Florida, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 David Chamendis KO 1 (4), 1:34 Sep 20, 1996 James L. Knight Convention Center, Miami, Florida, U.S.

References

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  1. ^ a b Showtime Championship Boxing tale of the tape prior to the third Diego Corrales fight.
  2. ^ Fischer, Doug (December 22, 2015). "Best I Faced: Joel Casamayor". The Ring. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  3. ^ ap.google.com, Marquez floors Casamayor in big lightweight debut[dead link]
  4. ^ Joel Casamayor : boxer
  5. ^ Gonzales, Jhonny (July 9, 2010). "Joel Casamayor Wants To Avenge Loss To Marquez". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  6. ^ Vester, Mark (July 31, 2010). "Robert Guerrero Gets Lackluster Win Over Joel Casamayor". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
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Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Jesús Chávez
NABF super featherweight champion
January 30, 1999 – May 1999
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Jesús Chávez
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Diego Corrales
IBA super featherweight champion
October 4, 2003 – March 6, 2004
Succeeded by
Diego Corrales
Major world boxing titles
Preceded by WBA super featherweight champion
Interim title

June 19, 1999 – May 21, 2000
Won world title
Vacant
Title next held by
Jorge Solís
Preceded by WBA super featherweight champion
May 21, 2000 – January 12, 2002
Lost bid for Super title
Vacant
Title next held by
Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai
Vacant
Title last held by
Diego Corrales
WBC lightweight champion
October 7, 2006 – February 20, 2007
Status changed
Succeeded by
David Díaz
promoted from interim status
Vacant
Title last held by
David Díaz
WBC lightweight champion
Interim title

February 20, 2007 – 2008
Stripped
Vacant
Title next held by
Antonio DeMarco
Vacant
Title last held by
Diego Corrales
The Ring lightweight champion
October 7, 2006 – September 13, 2008
Succeeded by
Lineal lightweight champion
October 7, 2006 – September 13, 2008
Preceded by WBO lightweight champion
Interim title

March 22, 2008 – September 2008
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Michael Katsidis