Wikipedia

Carlos Cruz (boxer)

For the basketball player with a similar name, see Teófilo Cruz

Carlos Teo Cruz
Statistics
Real nameCarlos Teófilo Rosario Cruz
Weight(s)Lightweight
NationalityDominican
BornNovember 24, 1937
Dominican Republic
DiedFebruary 15, 1970 (aged 32)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights58
Wins43
Wins by KO14
Losses13
Draws2

Carlos Teo Rosario Cruz (November 4, 1937 – February 15, 1970) was a boxer from the Dominican Republic. Cruz was world lightweight champion from 1968 to 1969.

Amateur career

Cruz claimed he didn't put on his first pair of boxing gloves until his 20th birthday. He fought as an amateur from 1957–1959, posting a 14–3 record.

Personal

Cruz's father, Francisco Rosario Almonte was an army officer in the Dominican military. Cruz met his wife, Mildred Ortiz in the town of Río Piedras in Puerto Rico. They were married in 1961 when Ortiz was 24 years old. Cruz had two children.

Cruz's younger brother, Leo Cruz, went on to become a world champion.

Pro career

He started his career as a professional boxer with a loss, being defeated by decision in eight rounds by Juan José Jiménez, October 23 of 1959 in Santo Domingo. His first win came on December 3 of that year, also in Santo Domingo, with a ten round decision win over Rafael Acevedo.

After one more win in Santo Domingo, he moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. There, he posted a record of 7 wins and 2 losses before returning to Santo Domingo in 1962. Out of the 7 wins in Puerto Rico during that era, 5 were by knockout. In his return to Santo Domingo, he posted a decision win over Acevedo in a rematch. Towards the end of 1962, he started campaigning in the United States, particularly in New York. There, he boxed 5 times before returning to San Juan for another bout. He won 4 and drew 1 of those fights, all wins by decision.

He spent the first half of 1964 touring Australia, where he won 2 fights and lost one. He lost on points to Graham Dicker in Brisbane, stopped Guizani Rezgui in Sydney and outpointed Gilberto Biondi in Melbourne. Then he returned to Latin America, his first fight after arriving in Australia being a major step up in quality of opposition for him: In Caracas, he met fellow world champion boxer Carlos Morocho Hernández. He was knocked out in four rounds by Hernandez. On to Panama City, where he lost a ten round decision to Julio Ruiz. He finished his year by beating Marcos Morales the best boxer of Puerto Rico in this time in Santo Domingo .

In 1965, he was undefeated. He fought in St. Croix, in Mayagüez, in Caguas and in London among other places. He won all ten of his bouts that year.

He won 8 bouts, lost 1 and drew 1 in 1966. He drew with Jaime Valladares in Quito, and lost to Frankie Narvaez in San Juan. But he also beat former world title challenger Bunny Grant. In 1967, he avenged his loss to Narvaez, and went undefeated the rest of the year, securing his position as the world's number one challenger among Lightweights.

He won three more fights to begin 1968, and then, on June 29 in Santo Domingo, he was given his first chance to challenge for a world title. He became world Lightweight champion when he defeated Carlos Ortiz by a decision in fifteen rounds.

He defended the world title with a fifteen round decision over Mando Ramos in Los Angeles, and then, he closed the year by winning a non-title bout in Tokyo, also by decision, in ten.

There was a rematch between Cruz and Ramos, also held in Los Angeles. The second time around, Ramos became world Lightweight champion by beating Cruz with an eleventh round knockout. Cruz went on to win his next three bouts of 1969.

On January 17 of 1970, Cruz won what would turn out to be, tragically, his last fight. He beat Benito Juarez in San Juan by a decision in ten, and then returned to Santo Domingo.


Professional boxing record

Professional record summary
57 fights 42 wins 13 losses
By knockout 14 2
By decision 28 10
By disqualification 0 1
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
57 Win 42–13–2 United States Benito Juarez UD 10 Jan 17, 1970 Puerto Rico La Cancha Country Club, San Juan
56 Win 41–13–2 Puerto Rico Victor Melendez UD 10 Oct 20, 1969 United States Madison Square Garden, New York
55 Win 40–13–2 United States Len Kesey TKO 4 (10) Oct 03, 1969 Puerto Rico Country Club Stadium, San Juan
54 Win 39–13–2 United States Grady Ponder PTS 10 Aug 09, 1969 Puerto Rico San Juan
53 Loss 38–13–2 United States Mando Ramos TKO 11 (15) Feb 18, 1969 United States Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal lightweight titles
52 Win 38–12–2 Japan Hidemori Tsujimoto UD 10 Dec 19, 1968 Japan Korakuen Hall
51 Win 37–12–2 United States Mando Ramos UD 15 Sep 27, 1968 United States Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal lightweight titles
50 Win 36–12–2 Puerto Rico Carlos Ortiz SD 15 Jun 29, 1968 Dominican Republic Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo Won WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal lightweight titles
49 Win 35–12–2 Venezuela Julio Viera UD 10 Apr 15, 1968 Puerto Rico Country Club Arena, San Juan
48 Win 34–12–2 United States Johnny Bean TKO 2 (10) Mar 03, 1968 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo
47 Win 33–12–2 Dominican Republic Chris Fernandez KO 9 (10) Jan 01, 1968 Jamaica Kingston
46 Win 32–12–2 Costa Rica Kennedy Clark UD 10 Dec 11, 1967 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
45 Win 31–12–2 United States Grady Ponder PTS 10 Jun 23, 1967 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo
44 Win 30–12–2 Puerto Rico Frankie Narvaez PTS 10 May 05, 1967 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
43 Loss 29–12–2 Puerto Rico Frankie Narvaez SD 10 Dec 12, 1966 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
42 Win 29–11–2 Canada Fernand Simard RTD 10 Oct 01, 1966 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
41 Win 28–11–2 Argentina Vicente Milan Derado SD 10 Aug 20, 1966 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
40 Win 27–11–2 Jamaica Bunny Grant UD 10 May 07, 1966 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
39 Draw 26–11–2 Ecuador Jaime Valladares PTS 10 Apr 02, 1966 Ecuador Plaza de Toros, Quito
38 Win 26–11–1 Argentina Vicente Milan Derado PTS 10 Sep 04, 1965 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
37 Win 25–11–1 Cuba Jose Chico Veliz PTS 10 Aug 14, 1965 United Kingdom Mayaguez
36 Win 24–11–1 United Kingdom Frankie Taylor PTS 10 Jul 06, 1965 United Kingdom Town Hall, Shoreditch
35 Win 23–11–1 Puerto Rico Daniel Berrios KO 1 (10) Jun 18, 1965 Puerto Rico Caguas
34 Win 22–11–1 Colombia Alejandro Parra TKO 4 (10) Apr 03, 1965 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
33 Win 21–11–1 Dominican Republic Criscencio Fernandez KO 3 (10) Feb 19, 1965 United States Virgin Islands D.C. Canegata Stadium, Altona
32 Win 20–11–1 Puerto Rico Marcos Morales TKO 2 (10) Dec 12, 1964 Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
31 Loss 19–11–1 Panama Julio Ruiz MD 10 Sep 20, 1964 Panama Estadio Olimpico, Panama City
30 Loss 19–10–1 Venezuela Carlos Morocho Hernández TKO 2 (10) Jun 01, 1964 Venezuela Caracas
29 Win 19–9–1 Italy Gilberto Biondi PTS 12 Mar 06, 1964 Australia Festival Hall, Melbourne
28 Win 18–9–1 France Guizani Rezgui TKO 11 (12) Mar 02, 1964 Australia Sydney Stadium, Sydney
27 Loss 17–9–1 Australia Graham Dicker PTS 12 Feb 14, 1964 Australia Festival Hall, Brisbane
26 Loss 17–8–1 Argentina Vicente Milan Derado PTS 10 Nov 01, 1963 United States Madison Square Garden, New York
25 Win 17–7–1 United States Johnny Bean PTS 10 Jul 06, 1963 Puerto Rico San Juan
24 Win 16–7–1 United States George Foster PTS 8 Mar 02, 1963 United States Madison Square Garden, New York
23 Win 15–7–1 United States Roland Kellem UD 8 Feb 05, 1963 United States Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens
22 Win 14–7–1 United States Calvin Woodland PTS 6 Jan 12, 1963 United States Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens
21 Win 13–7–1 Puerto Rico Candy Parilla PTS 6 Dec 18, 1962 United States Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens
20 Draw 12–7–1 United States Freddie Jackson PTS 6 Feb 24, 1962 United States Gladiators' Arena, Totowa
19 Win 12–7 United States Sammy Burgess PTS 10 Sep 14, 1962 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
18 Win 11–7 Dominican Republic Alejandro Gonzalez PTS 6 Jun 01, 1962 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
17 Win 10–7 Puerto Rico Rafael Acevedo UD 12 Feb 17, 1962 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo
16 Win 9–7 Puerto Rico Jose Aneiro TKO 8 (8) Jan 15, 1962 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
15 Win 8–7 United States Lionel Rivera TKO 8 (10) Oct 17, 1961 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
14 Loss 7–7 Puerto Rico Daniel Berrios PTS 4 Aug 29, 1961 Puerto Rico Channel 11 Studio, San Juan
13 Win 7–6 Puerto Rico Gerardo Clemente PTS 8 Aug 26, 1961 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
12 Loss 6–6 United States Vernon Lynch PTS 10 May 26, 1961 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
11 Loss 6–5 Puerto Rico Daniel Berrios DQ 2 (10) Feb 24, 1961 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
10 Win 6–4 Puerto Rico Gerardo Clemente TKO 10 (10) Nov 25, 1960 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
9 Loss 5–4 Puerto Rico Daniel Berrios PTS 10 Sep 16, 1960 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
8 Win 5–3 United States Lionel Rivera PTS 10 Sep 02, 1960 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
7 Loss 4–3 Puerto Rico Marcos Morales SD 10 Jul 05, 1960 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
6 Win 4–2 United States Bob Ashford KO 3 (6) Jun 11, 1960 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
5 Win 3–2 Puerto Rico Estaquio Gonzalez TKO 5 (6) May 29, 1960 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
4 Loss 2–2 Puerto Rico Daniel Berrios PTS 10 May 06, 1960 Puerto Rico Sixto Escobar Stadium, San Juan
3 Win 2–1 Puerto Rico Jesus M Serrano PTS 6 Mar 26, 1960 Dominican Republic Coliseo San Rafael, Santo Domingo
2 Win 1–1 Dominican Republic Rafael Acevedo PTS 10 Dec 03, 1959 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo
1 Loss 0–1 Dominican Republic Juan Jimenez PTS 8 Oct 23, 1959 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo






Preceded by
Carlos Ortiz
WBA Lightweight Champion
29 Jun 1968 – 18 Feb 1969
Succeeded by
Mando Ramos
Preceded by
Carlos Ortiz
WBC Lightweight Champion
29 Jun 1968 – 18 Feb 1969
Succeeded by
Mando Ramos

Death

On February 15, he was flying back to San Juan alongside his family for a fight against Roger Zami,[1] when their Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 plane crashed into the waters of the Caribbean shortly after take-off, killing Cruz, his wife and two children, and the rest of the passengers, among which also were a large part of Puerto Rico's national women's volleyball team .

References

  • The Ring, November 1967, pages 24–25–64: CRUZ AIMS AT TITLE; ORTIZ MAY EASE WAY, by Mario Rivera Martino

External links

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