The Iron Man

Ivan Calderon- 30-0 (6KOs)

Ivan Calderon, born on 7th January 1975, is a professional boxer from Peutro Rico. Calderon represented Peutro Rico in the 2000 Sydney Olympics after a successful amateur career. He is a two-weight world champion, a former Minimumweight world champion and the reigning WBO Light-Flyweight champion.

After the Olympics in 2000, Calderon made his professional debut in Febuary of 2001 and won via emphatic 1st round TKO. After a string of successful wins, including 2 KOs, Calderon won the WBO Minimumweight title by defeating Eduardo Ray Marquez over a 9th round TD. He made 12 successful defences of this title, all were against world class opposition, however Calderon found little respect outside the boxing community because of the lack of interest in the lower weight classes.

In August 2007, Ivan Calderon stepped up in weight class to move to the Light-Flyweight division. He fought the reigning WBO champion, and long-time belt holder, Hugo Cazares. Despite Calderon giving up 5" in height, he gave a great account of himself and won a hard fought SD over 12 rounds. Calderon found himself on the canvas in round 8, but stayed alive to win by the scores of 115-112, 115-112 & 111-116. Four months later Calderon defended his belt for the second time, with a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Juan Esquer.

Ivan Calderon's future is unknown, but at 33 years of age he will be looking for the big fights in order to establish his legacy. A rematch with Hugo Cazares has been discussed.

Updated by LeedsLad (02/06/08)