Wilfredo Rivera

Wilfredo Rivera, born on May 4, 1969, is a former Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed professionally for over 17 years, from 1988 to 2005. He began his professional boxing career with a win against Ivan Centeno via fourth-round TKO in San Juan when he was only 18 years old. Rivera's record consisted of 43 professional fights with 35 wins, including 21 by KO, seven losses, one draw, and zero no-contests. Although he fought for the world title thrice, Rivera could not secure a win for any of those fights.

Rivera's impressive record includes wins over several famous boxers, including Jeff Carpenter, Jimmie Morgan, Benjie Marquez, Alex Lubo, Mark Hammon, and Hall-of-Famer Carlos Palomino. Out of his 43 fights, 24 of them were held in Puerto Rico, with the remaining held in places such as Miami, Florida, and Las Vegas. His last professional fight was against Darien Ford, which was held in 2005. Rivera won the bout via an eight-round unanimous decision.

Wilfredo Rivera had his first world title fight against Pernell Whitaker, who was the WBC welterweight champion at the time, on April 12, 1996. It was Rivera's 24th professional fight, and he lost the fight via a 12-round split-decision. Rivera fought Whitaker again in a rematch, which was organized by the WBC immediately after the first fight due to its controversial result. The rematch was held on August 23, 1997, in Miami, but Rivera lost again, this time via unanimous decision.

The next challenge for Rivera was to win the title from the then-current champion Oscar De La Hoya. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be, as Rivera lost to De La Hoya via unanimous decision in 1998. Rivera's record at that time was 29 wins, no draws, and two losses. He would go on to amass six more wins and five losses before retiring after his last fight in 2005.

Throughout Rivera's professional career, he had a batting percentage of .816, winning 35 fights out of 43. He also scored 21 knockout victories, which is nearly half of his total victories. At 5 feet 11 inches tall with a reach of 72 inches, Rivera fought in the welterweight weight class and was known for his Orthodox stance.

As previously mentioned, Wilfredo Rivera began his professional boxing career with a win against Ivan Centeno. He continued winning five straight fights after his debut, with only one of those wins coming via stoppage. Rivera faced no losses until he went against Pernell Whitaker, who ended his 23-fight winning streak via 12 round split decision. The loss was a huge setback for Rivera, and he would not be able to win a world title in the remainder of his career.

After losing to Whitaker, Rivera continued to win his fights and amass victories over several top-rated boxers, building his credibility in the ring. However, when he got another chance to fight for a world title, this time against De La Hoya in 1998, he lost again. Rivera lost two more fights after the De La Hoya fight and would go on to retire after his fight against Darien Ford in 2005.

In his professional career, Wilfredo "El Radar" Rivera had a total of seven losses, with four of them coming via knockouts. Rivera fought primarily in his home country of Puerto Rico, with over half of his fights happening within his homeland. His last professional fight was in 2005, ending his professional boxing career with a record of 35 wins, seven losses, one draw, and no no-contests.

In conclusion, Wilfredo Rivera is a former Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed for over 17 years from 1988 to 2005. Rivera competed primarily in Puerto Rico, winning 35 out of 43 professional fights. He had 21 knockouts and 7 losses, with four of those losses coming by KO. With his excellent batting percentage of .816, Rivera fought primarily in the welterweight division and was known for his orthodox stance. Although he fought for the world title thrice, he could not secure a win for any of those fights. His last professional fight was against Darien Ford, whom he defeated via an eight-round unanimous decision. Rivera retired from professional boxing with a record of 35-7-1, including 21 knockout wins and four losses via knockout. Despite not winning a world title, Wilfredo Rivera made a name for himself in the professional boxing world during his nearly two-decade-long career.

Wilfredo Rivera Fight Record