Yankiel Rivera Explained

Yankiel Rivera
Nationality:Puerto Rican
Birth Name:Yankiel Rivera Figueroa
Birth Date:10 September 1997
Birth Place:Toa Alta, Puerto Rico
Total:5
Wins:5
Ko:2
Show-Medals:yes

Yankiel Rivera Figueroa (born September 10, 1997) is a Puerto Rican flyweight boxer. He is the only boxer in his country who qualified to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics.[1]

Boxing career

Rivera won bronze at the Pan American Youth Championships in Quito in 2014.[2] He lost to Leandro Blanc in the quarter-finals of the 2016 continental Olympic qualification in Buenos Aires[3] and competed at the 2017 World Boxing Championships in Hamburg, where he lost to the eventual runner-up Jasurbek Latipov in the preliminary round.[4] At the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla[5] and also at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, he won a bronze medal in the flyweight division.[6]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American-continental Olympic qualification tournament in Buenos Aires planned for May 2021 was canceled and a qualification based on the continental ranking was decided instead, which secured Rivera a starting place as number 3 in the ranking.[7]

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
5Win5-0Victor SandovalUD10June 15, 2024Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu, Manati, Puerto Rico. WBC Continental AmericasWBO Intercontinental (Vacant)
4Win4–0Christian RoblesUD8Jun 24, 2023
3Win3–0Fernando Diaz 8Feb 4, 2023
2Win2–0Ramon Velasquez KO3 (6) Nov 19, 2022
1Win1–0Jose Antonio Jimenez 1 (6) Sep 24, 2022

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Yankiel Rivera will be the sole hope of Puerto Rican boxing at Tokyo 2020. olympics.com. English.
  2. Web site: Panamerican Youth Championships 2014. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
  3. Web site: American Olympic Qualifier 2016. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
  4. Web site: World Championships 2017. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
  5. Web site: Central American and Caribbean Games 2018. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
  6. Web site: Panamerican Games2019. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
  7. Web site: Boxing Road to Tokyo Americas qualifier in Buenos Aires cancelled. Olympics.com.