In 1985 he represented Venezuela on the amateur World Cup in Seoul, gaining a silver medal in lightweights. The same year he scored a victory over future professional world champion Joey Gamache in a USA-Venezuela duel meet. One year later he participated on the 1986 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Reno, where he again won a silver medal in lightweights after losing in the final to three-time amateur world champion Adolfo Horta of Cuba.