Jose Rivera

Jose Antonio Rivera is a former super welterweight champion that hailed from Philadelphia, in the United States. Born in 1973, Jose Antonio had a rough childhood that eventually sent him to Puerto Rico. Life had been rough for him after his mother died when he was 10, but he eventually made things right after several years.

At 16, Jose Antonio started to train under Carlos Garcia. It was through his tutelage that Jose Antonio would get the necessary experience and the knowledge that would help him achieve his ultimate dream and that’s to become a world boxing champion.

Rivera was a very good amateur fighter. He made the right decisions of opposing older and more experienced amateur fighters so that he can get enough experience. He eventually made the decision to go professional after garnering 35 wins and 10 losses in the amateur arena.

In October 1992, he debuted as a professional fighter. From hereon, he would win a lot of titles to put under his belt like the Massachusetts State Champion, the United States Boxing Association regional champion, the International Boxing Organization World Champion, and the NABA championship. He also had to defend the first title twice.

Rivera won his first world title by defeating Michel Trabant on September 13, 2003. With this victory, he put a stain on Trabant’s previously undefeated record and took the World Boxing Association Welterweight Champion of the World with him. He would have to defend it 2 years later against Luis Collazo, but he lost that fight.

He decided to move to a different division and fought on May 6, 2006, against Alejandro Garcia in the junior middleweight championship. He won the WBA title but, again, lost it in a defense against Travis Simms. In this fight, Rivera was defeated by technical knockout after 9 rounds.

When not boxing, Rivera is actively working as a court officer, a job that he took on since 2006.