Carlos Negrón


Carlos José Negrón Colón is a professional boxer who competes in the heavyweight division. As an amateur, he represented Puerto Rico at numerous international events. Among the achievements reached during this stage of his career are winning bronze medal at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games and winning gold in the first Olympic qualifier tournament.

Amateur career

Early life and introduction to boxing

Negrón was born in the municipality of Villalba, in the central region of Puerto Rico's main island. Several members in his family were active members in the Police Department of Puerto Rico. His father is Lt. José Adolfo Negrón, and his two older brothers, José Alberto Negrón and José Alfredo Negrón also selected police service as their career. One of his uncles and several of his cousins are also police officers. Consequently, Negrón was initially attracted to a police career, but after he was introduced to boxing, he gained more interest in this sport. His brother, José Alberto, taught him the discipline and served as his trainer. At age 15 Negrón won his division's bronze medal at the 2003 Junior Olympics, which prompted him to pursue the sport as a career.

Pan American and Central American Games

In 2005 Negrón entered the Pan American championship, competing in the middleweight division. In the quarterfinals he defeated Leonel Murature of Argentina by points, 19:10. In the following round, Negrón was paired against Cristian Bautista of the Dominican Republic, winning by referee stopping contest. However, after advancing he was unable to compete against Emilio Correa in the finals, automatically losing by walkover. He subsequently ascended to the light heavyweight division. Negrón participated in the 25th Independence Cup, held in Santiago de los Caballeros from March 13-18, 2006. In the quarterfinals Negrón defeated Victor Alexander Segura of the Dominican Republic by points, 13:0. In the following round Negrón defeated Cristian Gálvez, another local pugilist, by RSC in the third round. On the tournament's last day, he won the Cup's championship versus Washington Silva, with scores of 20:6.
Negrón's only participation in the Central American and Caribbean Games was in 2006. In the preliminaries he eliminated Fitzroy Richardson of Guyana by RSC in the second round. In the quarterfinals Negrón defeated Melanio Flores of Panama by points, 17:1. In the next round, he suffered his only defeat of the tournament, losing to Yusiel Napoles by points, with scores of 14:2. With this performance, Negrón won the competition's light heavyweight bronze medal. Negrón represented Puerto Rico at the Pan American Qualifier, held in Barquisimeto, Venezuela from February 2-8, 2007. In the preliminary round he eliminated Patricio Pitto by RSC. In the quarterfinals he defeated Christopher Downs of the United States by points, 30:14. However, following an injury he abandoned the tournament, with his scheduled opponent, Yusiel Nápoles, being declared the winner by walkover. In the 2007 Pan American Games, Negrón lost to Julio Castillo of Ecuador by points in the quarterfinals. In this year he won the Golden Golves.

2008 Summer Olympics

To enter the 2008 Summer Olympics, Negrón participated in the first of two qualifying tournaments, held in Trinidad and Tobago. In the preliminaries he eliminated Joshua Garza of Mexico by points, 13:2. In the quarterfinals Negrón dominated Azea Augustama of Haiti, with scores of 11:0. The following round was a rematch with Silva, whom he defeated 12:4. In the finals Negrón won the tournament championship, defeating Luis González of Venezuela by points, with scores of 17:5.
On February 10, 2008, Negrón defeated Roberto Acevedo in the finals of the Campeonato Nacional Isaac Barriento de Boxeo Aficionado tournament. In a USA vs. Puerto Rico Dual held on April 26, 2008, Negrón defeated Siju Shabazz by RSC in the third round. Before the Olympics, Negrón participated in the XXXVIII International Golden Belt Tournament, in Constanţa, Romania. His first match was against local boxer Vonstantin Irimia; Negrón defeated him by technical knockout in the second round. In the finals he fought Martiney Ferenec of Hungary, defeating him by technical knockout after Ferenec abandoned the fight.
On July 8, 2008, Puerto Rico's Sports and Recreation Department offered up to $48,000 to the five Olympics-eligible boxers, if they chose to continue for a second Olympic cycle. Negrón noted that the offer was "very good" and expressed his intention to discuss it once the games were over. As part of their training the boxing team moved to South Korea to become accustomed to the time zone. After training and participating in a series of exhibition matches, the team traveled from South Korea to Beijing. In his first Olympic fight, Negrón defeated Mehdi Ghorbani of Iran on points, 13-4. Using his height and reach advantage, he managed to gain control of the score in the first round, scoring a knockdown in the third. In the second round, Negrón lost to Yerkebuian Shynaliyev of Kazakhstan by points, 9:3. The pugilist closed his amateur career after 102 fights, with a balance of 93 wins and 9 losses.

Professional career

After the Olympic Games, Negrón announced his intention of abandoning the amateur circuit to pursue a professional contract. On March 3, 2009, PR Best Boxing Promotions announced that Negrón had signed with them. Negrón debuted on March 28, 2009, as part of a card titled "Noche de Campeones", which was held in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. His opponent, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, also debuted on that night. Negrón scored a knockdown in the first round, which he followed with a right punch for a second fall. Consequently, Jiménez's corner ended the fight by "throwing in the towel", awarding Negrón a technical knockout victory.
On April 25, 2009, Negrón returned to action in "Campeón vs. Campeón," where Juan Manuel López fought Gerry Peñalosa in the main event. His opponent for this contest was Tyler Hughes, who entered the fight with an experience of 52 fights, including a loss to Joe Calzaghe. Negrón dominated the fight, scoring two knockdowns. Hughes was able to stand up before the referee's protection count concluded twice, but his corner intervened, awarding the pugilist the second first-round TKO of his career. On June 28, 2009, Negrón competed in the undercard of López's title defense against Olivier Lontchi. Negrón injured his opponent, Kenneth George, by the first punch. Negrón used this to his advantage, scoring two knockdowns before the referee stopped the fight at the 1:18 mark. His next opponent was Gevonte Davis, who scored a knockdown in the first round, before losing by technical knockout in the second.
On September 12, 2009, Negrón defeated Larry Carter by technical knockout. Less than a month later, he defeated Larry Pryor by unanimous decision in four rounds. On January 23, 2010, Negrón defeated Garrett Wilson by unanimous decision, in his last fight in the light heavyweight division. In the undercard of "Haciendo Historia", which featured a fight between Wilfredo Vázquez, Jr. and Marvin Sonsona in the main event, he defeated Roy Ashworth by knockout in the first round, after scoring three knockdowns. On April 17, 2010, Negrón defeated William Bailey by knockout in the first round. His next contest was in the undercard of a card titled "The Challenge: Juan Manuel López vs. Bernabé Concepción", where he was matched against Gustavo Enríquez, winning by unanimous decision.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
29Loss25–4Frank SánchezTKO9, 1:36Oct 15, 2022Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.For WBC Continental Americas and WBO-NABO heavyweight titles
28Win25–3Skylar ThompsonTKO2, 2:49Sep 25, 2021Bonaventure Resort Spa, Weston, Florida, U.S.
27Win24–3Antwaun TubbsTKO2, 1:25Jul 10, 2021Miami Airport Convention Center, Miami, Florida, U.S.
26Win23–3Scott AlexanderUD8May 1, 2021Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, U.S.
25Win22–3Rafael RiosKO2, 2:33Nov 7, 2020Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
24Win21–3Robert AlfonsoTKO1, 2:03Mar 7, 2020Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.
23Loss20–3Brian HowardKO1, 0:55Aug 3, 2019Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
22Loss20–2Dominic BreazealeKO9, 1:37Dec 22, 2018Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.
21Win20–1Derric RossyTKO4, 1:55Jun 24, 2017Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.Won vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title
20Win19–1Cristian GalvezKO2, 2:26Dec 19, 2016Coliseo Pedro Julio Nolasco, La Romana, Dominican Republic
19Win18–1Alexis Rafael Castillo SanchezTKO1, 1:39Sep 15, 2016Gimnasio Pina Acevedo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
18Win17–1Andy PerezTKO1, 1:17Sep 9, 2016Club Maquiteria, Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWon vacant WBC FECARBOX heavyweight title
17Win16–1Excell HolmesTKO1, 2:07Dec 19, 2015Coliseo Tomas Dones, Fajardo, Puerto Rico
16Win15–1Sandy Antonio SotoTKO2, 2:25Dec 7, 2013Coliseo Pedro Julio Nolasco, La Romana, Dominican Republic
15Win14–1Francisco MirelesKO1, 2:24Mar 2, 2012Coliseo Angel 'Cholo' Espada, Salinas, Puerto Rico
14Loss13–1Epifanio MendozaTKO3, 2:03Sep 2, 2011Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
13Win13–0Reggie PenaTKO2, 2:36Jul 1, 2011Coliseo Tomas Dones, Fajardo, Puerto Rico
12Win12–0Emerson Chasing BearTKO4, 1:23Apr 16, 2011Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
11Win11–0Willie HerringUD8Jan 22, 2011Complejo Correccional INST 1072, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
10Win10–0Gustavo EnriquezUD4Jul 10, 2010Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, San Juan, Puerto Rico
9Win9–0William BaileyKO1, 2:40Apr 17, 2010Coliseo Tomas Dones, Fajardo, Puerto Rico
8Win8–0Roy AshworthKO1, 2:59Feb 27, 2010Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
7Win7–0Garrett WilsonUD6Jan 23, 2010Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
6Win6–0Larry Pryor4Oct 10, 2009Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
5Win5–0Larry CarterTKO1, 2:49Sep 12, 2009Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
4Win4–0Gevonte DavisTKO2, 2:05Aug 21, 2009Coliseo Pedrin Zorrilla, San Juan, Puerto Rico
3Win3–0Kenny GeorgeTKO1, 1:18Jun 27, 2009Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
2Win2–0Tyler Hughes1, 1:06Apr 25, 2009Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
1Win1–0Miguel Angel Jimenez1, 1:31Mar 28, 2009Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico