# Carlos Cruz (boxer)

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. He is the older brother of former super bantamweight world champion of boxing, Leo Cruz.

## 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 to 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 from 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, a boxer of Puerto Rico during this era, at 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 his last fight. He beat Benito Juarez in San Juan by a decision in ten, and then returned to Santo Domingo.

## Professional boxing record

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

## Titles in boxing
### Major world titles

* WBA lightweight champion (135 lbs)
* WBC lightweight champion (135 lbs)

### The Ring magazine titles

* The Ring lightweight champion (135 lbs)

### Undisputed titles

* Undisputed lightweight champion

## Death

On February 15, 1970, Cruz was flying back to San Juan alongside his family for a fight against Roger Zami, 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, along with all other passengers and crew on board, which included the coach and eleven players of the Puerto Rico women's national volleyball team.