588:. Once again, little chance was given to Rivera by the boxing press and fans alike; he did, however, trade blows evenly with De La Hoya for a good portion of the bout, falling in round four but getting up and battling it out until round eight, when the bout was stopped due to a cut (which had been caused by a De La Hoya punch) bleeding too profusely for Rivera to continue, therefore Rivera lost the fight by an eighth-round technical knockout. De La Hoya was winning the bout by a substantial number of points on the judges' scorecards when the fight was stopped.
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dropped in round six, this bout would have ended in a draw (tie) and possibly a third match between Rivera and
Whitaker (by losing points due to the low blow and the fall, Rivera lost the chance of having the bout scored 114-113 for him by Kassees and 115-115 by Ushida, which, added to Keene's score-which would have read 115-113 for Whitaker-would have caused the bout to be ruled a tie). HBO's unofficial judge, Harold Lederman, also notably, this time scored the bout for Whitaker by a score of 116–109.
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with a knockout victory against 24-15 -2 journeyman Benjie
Marquez on July 25, also at San Juan. On September 12, Rivera faced Mark Hammon, a veteran journeyman with a record of 38 wins and 12 losses. If Rivera could get past Hammon, a fight with WBC world Welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya would be signed. With such an opportunity lurking on the horizon, Rivera made his
513:, who was planning to challenge the rematch's winner. Rivera dropped the champion in round five with a body blow that landed after Whitaker apparently tripped on Rivera's left foot. Whitaker then responded by dropping Rivera with a left to the chin in round six. Rivera also lost a point during that round for a low blow.
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Next was
Delfino Martin, a 13 win, 17 losses trail horse who fought Rivera on Saturday, February 13, 1993, as part of the undercard in which Molina successfully defended his IBF world Junior Lightweight title by outpointing Francisco Segura over 12 rounds at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.
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earlier and whom Rivera knocked out on
October 30, 1991, in San Juan; 27-12 Idelmar Paisan, a unanimous decision win for Rivera on November 27 at San Juan; fellow Trinidad victim, 17-15 Darren McGrew, knocked out by Rivera on March 12, 1992, in San Juan; and 21-12-3 Amancio Castro, defeated by Rivera
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in which winners in each boxing division were promised a world ranking among the top ten in their category by one of the four major sanctioning bodies and, possibly, a world title shot, Rivera competing in the 1993 edition of the tournament's
Welterweight championship. On April 26, 1993, Rivera won
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On April 19, 1997, Rivera faced Alex Lubo, a 10-1 contender who hoped to upset Rivera and enter the
Welterweight top 10 rankings himself. Rivera halted Lubo, winning by technical knockout to continue having a spot among the WBC's top ten Welterweight championship contenders, and followed that win
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Once again, Whitaker pulled a very close and somewhat controversial, but this time unanimous, decision win over 12 rounds to retain the WBC world welterweight title, with scores of 115-113 by
Masakazu Ushida, 113-112 by Jay Kassees, and 115-111 by John Keene. Had Rivera not lost a point and been
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Rivera next signed to face the WBC world
Welterweight champion, Oscar De la Hoya, in what constituted Rivera's third world title try. A massive promotional tour followed in which Rivera and De La Hoya got acquainted; they generally got along well during their tour, which included a stop in
424:, an American whom Rivera outpointed in order to reach the tournament's Welterweight division's final, fought against Stephan Johnson on August 9. He beat Johnson by 10 round unanimous decision to become the Great Western Forum's boxing tournament's 1993 edition's Welterweight champion.
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Mosley went on to conquer the WBC world
Welterweight title in the summer of 2000 by outpointing De La Hoya, who had beaten Derrell Coley and had the WBC reinstate him as world welterweight champion after Trinidad, Jr. vacated it to move on to the Junior Middleweight division.
494:, score the bout for Rivera, 115–113. Whitaker, however, was given a very controversial 12 round split decision win, with judges Tamotsu Tomihara (116-111) and George St. Aude (115-113) scoring for the champion and judge Barbara Perez scoring for Rivera, 115–112.
335:. He was, however, not allowed to participate himself, the Puerto Rican Boxing Federation choosing Hector Arroyo instead to fight at Rivera's weight during those Olympic Games. Rivera wound up his amateur boxing career with a record of 51 wins and 6 losses.
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After two wins over lower opposition rivals Luis De Jesus (3-7) and Jose Luis De Jesus (1-1, the latter two not the same boxer), Rivera fought a string of hard opponents, including 11-1 Francisco
Martinez, a knockout victory for Rivera on June 21, 1991, at
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Rivera debuted as a professional boxer on May 2, 1988, beating the also debuting Jose Centeno by knockout in San Juan. He then defeated Agustin Silva and Luis Rivera (no relation), the latter as part of an undercard headed by the fight between
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Rivera worked as a security guard for some time once his boxing career was over. He faced a divorce from his wife and was fired from the job as a security guard, ending up homeless for some time. He lived in his van, a blue
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Rivera took off some time after the action-packed loss at the hands of Mosley, returning ten months after with a win on July 21, 2000, against 16-15 Gerald Coleman by technical knockout at the Harrah's hotel and Casino in
657:). Mosley-Rivera was also televised by HBO Boxing. In a bruising affair, Rivera won three of the first nine rounds on HBO's unofficial judge Harold Lederman's card before being overcome by Mosley in round 10 by knockout.
505:(Rivera was even called the "uncrowned champion" on some outlets), the World Boxing Council ordered an immediate rematch. The second Rivera-Whitaker bout was fought at the James Knight Convention Center in
674:, a victory that he followed with one over the veteran Rob Bleakley, who, with a record of 77 wins, 29 losses and one draw was making his 108th bout against Rivera when they met on January 7, 2001, at
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Following the fight with De La Hoya, Rivera crossed gloves with come-backing future International Boxing Hall of Fame member, former WBC world Welterweight champion, 31-3-3, 19 knockout wins rival
431:, 56-24-5 former world title challenger Rod Sequenan by knockout on September 12, 1994, at the Great Western Forum, 16-5-2 Ronald Rangel by unanimous decision at the Taj Majal Hotel and Casino in
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Rivera had five bouts after the Vargas loss, going 3–2 with one knockout win in those five bouts, which included a technical knockout loss to 20-4 Alfredo Cuevas on July 19, 2002, for the vacant
693:. Rivera almost caused an upset when he dropped the heavily favored Vargas in round two of their bout, but Vargas rose from the canvas to win by sixth-round knockout in a fight broadcast on
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world lightweight champion who had moved to the Welterweight division. A world title chance was at stake when Mosley and Rivera matched punches at the Pechanga Entertainment Center in
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where the two friends decided to leave their press conferences' premises and join a passing carriage, from where they took a sightseeing tour of the city. This moment was recorded by
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Rivera grew in poverty in Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of Wilfredo Rivera, Sr. and of Iris Violeta. When he was 12, his parents divorced and his father moved to
626:, beating Hernandez on points. On July 16, 1999, Rivera fought a mismatch against 14-34-1 triailhorse Jimmy Morgan, who was stopped by the Puerto Rican at the
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By this point of his career, Rivera's record was 23-0-1 with 14 knockout wins; he was a highly regarded contender for the WBC world Welterweight title held by
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on January 25, 1995, an April 18 victory over fringe contender, Cassius Clay Horne, 29-8-2 before their bout at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in
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in the tournament's quarterfinals by knocking out Argentina's Ariel Chaves to advance to the semifinals, held on June 28, when he faced former
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After gaining a ranking among the WBC's top ten Welterweights, Rivera proceeded to beat 9-3 Carlos Cartagena by knockout on July 22, 1994, in
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439:-a knockout victory-, a win over veteran trial horse Manuel Hernandez, 18-15-2, on a technical knockout July 15 at the Caesar's Tahoe in
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did not expect a Rivera victory. After twelve rounds, however, Rivera had impressed the HBO team enough to have HBO's unofficial judge,
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509:. At stake was not only the WBC world Welterweight title but also a big money fight versus WBC world Junior Welterweight champion
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678:. Rivera outpointed Bleakley over ten rounds, setting up a ten-round bout against former IBF world Junior Middleweight champion "
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at El Condado, San Juan. Rivera dominated this bout, scoring a third-round knockout win over his experienced foe, who had beaten
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The next year, Whitaker lost his world title to De La Hoya by way of yet another very controversial but unanimous decision.
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and who was undefeated in four bouts, including a first-round knockout over former world champion
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Due to the closeness of their first fight, and to the protests raised by boxing magazines both in
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Rivera retired a winner after defeating Darien Ford (10-11 coming in) by unanimous decision at
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on September 25, 1999 (Oscar De La Hoya had lost his title to another Puerto Rican,
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Rivera was a member of the Puerto Rican men's boxing team that participated at the
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He had a record of 35 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, with 21 wins by way of knockout.
603:, during his late 1990s boxing comeback. Rivera-Palomino was held at the historic
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On March 22, 1997, Rivera was matched with the legendary but shopworn former
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Junior Middleweight (Super Welterweight) champion, Mexican prospect, 13-0
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condition, which led to many prospective employers thinking he is
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from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially
25:
947:"Pernell Whitaker vs. Wilfredo Rivera (2nd meeting) - BoxRec"
929:"Pernell Whitaker vs. Wilfredo Rivera (1st meeting) - BoxRec"
685:
The Rivera-Vargas bout took place on May 5, 2001, at the
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twice and who sported a 38-19-2 record into this fight.
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He has a daughter named Ashley and a son named Jeremy.
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debut in Las Vegas, dispatching Hammon by knockout.
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447:on November 18 at the Taj Majal Hotel and Casino.
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991:"Wilfredo Rivera quiere salir del hoyo -VĂŤDEO"
404:Rivera defeated Martin by unanimous decision.
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847:"BOXING; Rivera Sharpens His Focus on Title"
458:Fights with Pernell Whitaker for world title
359:Rivera won his next two bouts, both at the
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63:about living persons that is unsourced or
134:Learn how and when to remove this message
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614:On April 21, 1999, Rivera faced future
879:"Forgotten Legends: Wilfredo Rivera -"
845:Smith, Timothy W. (December 2, 1997).
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861:"Rivera Sharpens His Focus on Title"
597:California State Athletic Commission
420:Junior Welterweight world champion
213:5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
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707:United States Boxing Organization
538:International Boxing Hall of Fame
616:North American Boxing Federation
569:camera crews and shown on their
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356:in San Juan on April 29, 1989.
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687:Don Haskins Convention Center
665:Fight against Fernando Vargas
556:Challenge of Oscar De la Hoya
83:"Wilfredo Rivera" boxer
41:biography of a living person
21:Wilfredo Rivera (footballer)
16:Puerto Rican boxer (b. 1969)
532:world Lightweight champion
371:world Lightweight champion
68:must be removed immediately
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655:their bout one week before
584:and broadcast live on HBO
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825:"BoxRec: Wilfredo Rivera"
680:Ferocious Fernando Vargas
582:Atlantic City, New Jersey
381:Atlantic City, New Jersey
354:Roberto Clemente Coliseum
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1021:Puerto Rican male boxers
849:– via NYTimes.com.
578:Caesars Hotel and Casino
221:72 in (183 cm)
19:Not to be confused with
714:Allentown, Pennsylvania
609:Los Angeles, California
400:by technical knockout.
367:, before facing future
407:Rivera then entered a
55:Please help by adding
791:. He was born with a
789:Carolina, Puerto Rico
695:HBO Boxing After Dark
413:Inglewood, California
396:on June 13, 1992, at
361:Madison Square Garden
170:San Juan, Puerto Rico
978:Pay-Per-View History
676:Nashville, Tennessee
647:Temecula, California
550:Caesars Palace hotel
329:1988 Summer Olympics
61:Contentious material
632:Evansville, Indiana
534:Livingstone Bramble
443:and one over 22-16
409:Great Western Forum
339:Professional career
867:. 2 December 1997.
865:The New York Times
723:Pay-per-view bouts
716:on July 10, 2005.
637:Then Rivera faced
624:Rosemont, Illinois
605:Olympic Auditorium
333:Seoul, South Korea
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480:Jim Lampley
468:Puerto Rico
464:St. Maarten
177:Nationality
166:May 4, 1969
1005:Categories
951:boxrec.com
933:boxrec.com
915:boxrec.com
897:boxrec.com
829:boxrec.com
811:References
793:stuttering
755:De La Hoya
476:HBO Boxing
365:Felt Forum
307:Early life
263:Wins by KO
186:Statistics
162:1969-05-04
94:newspapers
441:Stateline
437:Las Vegas
315:, in the
193:Weight(s)
46:citations
766:240,000
742:Network
501:and the
470:and the
230:Orthodox
72:libelous
736:Billing
540:member
352:at the
108:scholar
759:Rivera
271:Losses
226:Stance
210:Height
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398:Miami
279:Draws
218:Reach
115:JSTOR
101:books
39:This
757:vs.
739:Buys
730:Date
567:ESPN
486:and
348:and
255:Wins
156:Born
87:news
48:for
770:HBO
689:in
682:".
653:at
643:IBF
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379:in
369:IBF
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