KARLOS BALDERAS SCORES SEVENTH WIN
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 20 Feb 2019
Slowly but surely, ex-US 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian Karlos Balderas (7-0-0, 6KO) of the Balderas Boxing School at Sta. Maria, California is creeping up the ladder of the world?s best lightweights.
Last Saturday at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles, Balderas scored a scintillating knock down, putting Jose Cen Torres to the canvas with a wicked left hook to the body in round no. 3. Torres was able to get up and finish the round but his corner stopped the fight before round 4 started. The stoppage was the 6th in the 7 fight professional career of Balderas.
Balderas is a second generation Mexican-American and the first US born member of his family that traces their roots to Oaxaca, Mexico. He was directed into boxing as a punishment for street fighting as a kid. The discipline instilled in him at the gym turned him into a potential world champion.
Highlights of Balderas? amateur record includes participation at the?2015 Pan American Games?held in?Toronto,?Ontario, Canada. Balderas boxed in the?men's lightweight event. He received a bye to the quarterfinals but he was defeated by?Lindolfo Delgado?of Mexico.
Balderas represented the?USA Knockouts?in the?World Series of Boxing?(WSB). In 2015 he took part in five bouts, defeating?Fabio Introvaia?of Italy,?Dawid Michelus?of Poland,?Brian Nunez?of Argentina and?Adrian Javier Martinez Morales?of Puerto Rico but losing to Azerbaijan's?Albert Selimov.
In 2016 he won his first two bouts against Lindolfo Delgado and Moroccan?Hamza Rabii.
He qualified for the?men's lightweight event?at the?2016 Summer Olympics?in?Rio de Janeiro?Brazil via his results in the WSB where he won the gold medal in his elite division and was named Outstanding Boxer of the event.
Balderas was given his Olympic allocation by the?International Boxing Association?(AIBA) after two of the athletes ahead of him in the final WSB rankings instead qualified for the Olympics through the 2015 World Championships.?
At the Rio Olympics, Balderas won his first two matches but lost in the?quarterfinals?to Cuban finalist?L?zaro ?lvarez.
On April 9, 2017, he turned pro and signed a promotional contract with RingStar Promotions of Richard Schaeffer. Balderas won his fight debut by first-round TKO. His opponent, Thomas Smith was so beat up in the first round that he refused to come out for the 2nd round, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
Balderas is train by his Dad, Zenon and his uncle, David with this author as his ?cutman?.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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