# Joel Casamayor

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.

## Amateur career

Casamayor's amateur record stands at 363 wins and 30 losses.
* 1989 – Gold medal (Bantamweight) at the Junior World Championships
* 1992 – Gold medal (Bantamweight) at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain
** Defeated Venkatesan Devarajan (India) points
** Defeated Riadh Klaai (Tunisia) points
** Defeated Roberto Jalnaiz (Philippines) KO 1
** Defeated Mohammed Achik (Morocco) TKO 1
** Defeated Wayne McCullough (Ireland) points
* 1993 – Silver medal (Bantamweight) at the 1993 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Tampere, Finland
** Defeated Agathangelos Tsiripidis (Greece) TKO 3
** Defeated Dirk Krueger (Germany) points
** Defeated Arthur Mikaelian (Armenia) points
** Defeated Vladislav Antonov (Russia) points
** Lost to Alexander Hristov (Bulgaria) points
* 1994 – Bronze medal (Featherweight) at the World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand
** Defeated Brian Carr (Scotland) points
** Defeated Nourredine Medjihoud (Algeria) points
** Defeated Cristian Rodriguez (Argentina) points
** Lost to Falk Huste (Germany) points
* 1994 – Silver Medal (Featherweight) at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia
** Defeated Kai Kandelin (Finland) TKO 1
** Defeated Claude Chinon (France) points
** Lost to Ramaz Paliani (Russia) points
* 1995 – Competed (Featherweight) at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin, Germany
** Lost to Raimkul Malachbekov (Russia) points

## Professional career

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 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. 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

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

### Comeback

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

## Professional boxing record

| 45 fights | 38 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 22 | 2 |
| By decision | 16 | 4 |
| Draws | 1 | 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. | |