Juan Urango


Juan Fernando Urango Rivas, best known as Juan Urango, is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2012. He held the IBF junior welterweight title twice between 2006 and 2010, and challenged once for the WBC welterweight title in 2009. His nickname of "Iron Twin" is a reference to his twin brother, Pedro Urango, who is also a former boxer.

Professional career

Urango made his professional debut on April 30, 2002, scoring a second-round knockout against Efrain Sotomayor. On August 5, 2004, Urango challenged Mike Arnaoutis for the WBO–NABO light welterweight title, but their fight ended in a majority draw. In his next fight, on December 16, 2004, Urango stopped Ubaldo Hernandez to win the vacant WBC Latino light welterweight title. He unified this with the IBF Latino title by knocking out Francisco Campos in five rounds on April 22, 2005. Urango won his first world championship—the vacant IBF light welterweight title—on June 20, 2006, by scoring a unanimous decision over Naoufel Ben Rabah, but would lose by the same result in his first defense, on January 20, 2007, against Ricky Hatton.
2009 was a busy year for Urango: on January 30, 2009, he regained the IBF title by defeating Herman Ngoudjo via UD. On May 30, Urango briefly moved up to welterweight, but lost an uncompetitive UD to WBC champion Andre Berto. Returning on August 28, Urango faced Randall Bailey in defense of his IBF light welterweight title. In an action-packed fight, Urango was knocked down for the first time in his career, but responded by knocking down Bailey three times to score a late stoppage in the eleventh round.
On March 6, 2010, Urango attempted to unify his IBF title with that of WBC champion Devon Alexander. The fight was competitive through eight rounds, until Alexander landed a hard right uppercut to send Urango to the canvas. Despite being badly hurt, Urango managed to beat the referee's count and continue momentarily, but was then floored again. He got up for a second time, only for the referee to deem him unable to continue. Urango would spend more than two years away from the sport, retiring to work on a pig farm he had bought in Colombia. He had two comeback fights against journeyman opposition on April 26 and September 14, 2012, but has not fought since.

Personal life

Urango is a devout Christian, and was raised on his family's farm in Montería.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
28Win24–3–1Oney ValdezKO5, 1:57Sep 14, 2012Centro Recreativo Tacasuam, Montería, Colombia
27Win23–3–1Cristian ChavezKO2, 0:59Apr 26, 2012Expo Bancomer, Mexico City, Mexico
26Loss22–3–1Devon AlexanderTKO8, 1:12Mar 6, 2010Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.Lost IBF light welterweight title;
For WBC light welterweight title
25Win22–2–1Randall BaileyTKO11, 1:51Aug 28, 2009Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.Retained IBF light welterweight title
24Loss21–2–1Andre BertoUD12May 30, 2009Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.For WBC welterweight title
23Win21–1–1Herman NgoudjoUD12Jan 30, 2009Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaWon vacant IBF light welterweight title
22Win20–1–1Carlos Wilfredo VilchesKO4, 1:45Apr 23, 2008Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
21Win19–1–1Marty RobbinsTKO5, 2:44Dec 5, 2007Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
20Win18–1–1Nasser AthumaniTKO4, 2:59Aug 31, 2007Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
19Loss17–1–1Ricky HattonUD12Jan 20, 2007Paris Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Lost IBF light welterweight title;
For vacant IBO light welterweight title
18Win17–0–1Naoufel Ben RabahUD12Jun 30, 2006Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.Won vacant IBF light welterweight title
17Win16–0–1Andre EasonTKO7, 2:59Aug 26, 2005Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.Retained WBC Latino light welterweight title
16Win15–0–1Francisco CamposKO5, 1:46Apr 22, 2005Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.Retained WBC Latino light welterweight title;
Won IBF Latino light welterweight title
15Win14–0–1Ubaldo HernandezTKO2, 2:35Dec 16, 2004Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.Won vacant WBC Latino light welterweight title
14Draw13–0–1Mike Arnaoutis12Aug 5, 2004Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.For WBO–NABO light welterweight title
13Win13–0Sergey Sorokin6Jun 8, 2004Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
12Win12–0Levan KirakosyanPTS8Feb 6, 2004Guadalajara, Spain
11Win11–0Frank Oppong6Oct 11, 2003Soria, Spain
10Win10–0Marcos MunozKO2 Sep 26, 2003Alameda Palace Hotel, Salamanca, Spain
9Win9–0Ricardo Antonio VieiraKO1 Jul 24, 2003Ordizia, Spain
8Win8–0Luis MartinezKO1 Dec 22, 2002Colombia
7Win7–0Eduardo MoralesKO2Oct 21, 2002Colombia
6Win6–0Amaury RaceroTKO2 Aug 30, 2002Montería, Colombia
5Win5–0Dagoberto GelesKO5Jul 27, 2002Colombia
4Win4–0Pedro Fuentes3 Jul 26, 2002Colombia
3Win3–0Luis BlandonKO3Jun 15, 2002Cartagena, Colombia
2Win2–0Amaury RaceroKO2May 21, 2002Colombia
1Win1–0Efrain Sotomayor2 Apr 30, 2002Montería, Colombia