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Francisco Javier Castillejo (born March 22, 1968) is a boxer from Spain. He is the former WBA World Middleweight Champion, and has also previously held the WBC World Light-Middleweight Championship, giving him recognition as one of the few currently active fighters to have held highly-regarded World Championships in two different weight classes. He has fought against stars Oscar de la Hoya, Felix Sturm, Fernando Vargas, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Michael Rask and Mariano Natalio Carrera, and others. He's considered the best spanish boxer of history.

Biography

Nicknamed "El Lince de Parla" ("Parla's Lynx", in English), Castillejo is a native of the Parla area of Madrid. He currently resides and trains in Madrid.

Professional career

Castillejo made his professional debut on July 22 of 1988, when he outpointed Ángel Díez over six rounds in Madrid. He had an immediate rematch with Díez, on September 2 of the same year. Their second fight resulted in Castillejo's first knockout win, when he beat Diez in the fourth round. On November 4, he had his first fight outside Madrid, and his first knockout win in the first round, when he beat Juan Perez in Torrejon.

Castillejo had four more wins, before he was defeated for the first time. On August 19, 1989, he lost an eight round decision to Del Bryan, in Benidorm. But he followed that loss with a streak of twenty two victories in a row.

Among the most notable wins during that streak were a fourth round knockout on October 19, 1990, of Alfonzo Redondo, which gave Castillejo the Spanish Welterweight Championship, at Leganes. On July 5, 1991, he retained that national championship, with another fourth round knockout victory, this time against Domingo Sanchez, in Lugo. On April 10, 1992, Castillejo got his first win against a former or future world champion, when he knocked out former IBF world Lightweight champion, Puerto Rican Harry Arroyo, in three rounds at Leganes. He followed that victory with another win versus a former world champion, the former WBC world Jr. Welterweight champion Saoul Mamby of Jamaica, by an eight round decision on May 15, at Bilbao. On December 12 of that year, Castillejo added the WBC's Mundo Hispano Jr. Middleweight title, when he defeated Enrique Areco by a twelve round decision in Areco.

First Title Shot

Despite the fact that he had not fought outside Spain as a professional yet and thus he had little international fan recognition as a boxer, Castillejo received his first world title try, when he challenged Julio Cesar Vazquez of Argentina, for Vazquez's WBA world Jr. Middleweight title, on April 24 of 1993, also in Leganes. Vazquez outpointed him over 12 rounds, ending his 22 fight winning streak.

After defending his Mundo Hispano regional title with success in a rematch with Victor Hugo Sclarandi on October 29 of that year by a knockout in five rounds, Castillejo finally had his first fight abroad, when he beat Bernard Razzano by a knockout in six rounds, at Dijon, France, to conquer the European Boxing Union's Jr. Middleweight title. He defended that title successfully four times, then lost it, on January 3, 1995 to the then future WBA world Jr. Middleweight champion Laurent Boudoani, in Epernay, France, by knockout in round nine.

His next fight was a victory by disqualification in six rounds on July 14 against Carlos Rocha Tovar in Sevilla. The victory against Tovar was followed by a rematch with Boudoani, who would once again defeat Castillejo, this time around by a twelve round decision, on Levallois, January 6, 1996.

Castillejo then won six more fights in a row before fighting for a world title again. He regained the EBU Jr. Middleweight title by knocking out the former WBA world Welterweight title challenger, Ahmed Dottuev, in round twelve at Suffolk, England, on July 2, 1998.

Winning His First World Title

On January 29, 1999, Castijello got his second chance at becoming a world champion. That night, he outpointed WBC world Jr. Middleweight champion Keith Mullings over twelve rounds to join a handful of world champions to come from Spain. Despite some protests from Mullings' management team, the judges' decision remained, and Castillejo got the WBC belt.

On October 21, Castillejo defended his title for the first time, knocking out Javier Manuel Martinez in the fourth round, in a fight that was celebrated as part of the WBC's annual convention, which was held in Mexico City, Mexico that year.

Losing the title to de la Hoya

After one more defense, where Castillejo retained the title with a seventh round knockout, a fight was set between him and Oscar de la Hoya. It was Castillejo's first big time, Pay Per View event. Many fans, perhaps ignoring Castillejo's achievements in Europe and as defendind world champion, regarded Castillejo as another stepping stone in de la Hoya's career. Castillejo commented to this regard, saying on a press conference before the fight, which was held in Las Vegas, that "(he) didn't come to Las Vegas to do tourism, but to defend (his) title". Castillejo lasted the twelve round distance with de la Hoya, but was sent to the canvas seconds before the fight ended, and lost a unanimous twelve round decision and his world Jr. Middleweight championship, on June 23, 2001.

After six months, Castillejo returned to the boxing ring, beating the well regarded Xavier Moya by a knockout in five rounds, On January 11, 2002, to win the vacant European Community's Jr. Middleweight title, in Barcelona.

On July 12 of 2002, he partially regained the WBC world Jr. Middleweight title, when he beat Roman Karmazin by a twelve round unanimous decision in Madrid, for the WBC's "interim" title. This interim recognition was later retired from him, however, because he did not fight the WBC's recognized champion, which at the time was Shane Mosley, who had suffered an injury and was unable to box for the period being.

Castillejo then won four fights in a row, all by knockout.

He fought Fernando Vargas, in a fight that was supposed to be for the WBA's vacant world Jr. Middleweight title, on August 20, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois. It was decided ultimately to make the bout a ten round affair instead of a world championship fight. Despite being dropped in round three, Castillejo was able to last ten rounds with fellow former world Jr, Middleweight champion Vargas, but he lost a ten round decision to the Mexican-American.

Winning a Middleweight Title

On July 15th 2006, Castillejo sprang back on the boxing scene by defeating younger Felix Sturm of Germany to seize the "regular" WBA middleweight belt in an exiting fight. Sturm, making his first title defense, was headed to a one-sided win until Castillejo (61-6, 41 knockouts) caught him with a left hook against the ropes with 13 seconds left in the 10th Round.

Castillejo, a former WBC junior middleweight champ, then hit Sturm (27-2, 11 knockouts) with three uppercuts before the referee called the fight, making Castillejo, 38 at the time of his upset victory, the oldest man to win a recognised version on the World Middleweight Championship. He lost his title in his first defence against Argentine Mariano Natalio Carrera via a disputed 11th round TKO. Later on, Carrera tested positive for Clenbuterol and was suspended for 6 months by the WBA, thus Castillejo regained his title on February, 23rd. . He lost the title April 28, 2007 in a rematch against Felix Sturm. He fought Mariano Natalio Carrera again on November 13, 2007, this time winning by KO in the 6th round, thus setting up a third bout against Sturm for his WBA middleweight belt.

Professional boxing record (IN CONSTRUCTION)

62 Wins (43 knockouts, 18 decisions, 1 disqualification), 8 Loss, 1 Draws
Result	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Draw	Pablo Navascues	TKO (corner retirement)	11 (12), 0:48	4 April 2009	Leganes, Madrid
Loss	Sebastian Sylvester	Decision (unanimous)	12	12 April 2008	Manchester, UK
Win	Mariano Natalio Carrera	TKO	10 (12), 1:35	13 November 2007	Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	Felix Sturm	KO	4 (12), 2:16	28 April 2007	Las Vegas, Nevada
Desc.	Mariano Natalio Carrera	Decision (unanimous)	12	align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	Felix Sturm	Decision (unanimous)	12	15 July 2006	Boston, Massachusetts
Win	Luis Carmona	KO	9 (12), 1:10	26 November 2005	Sheffield, UK
Win	Presente Brito	TKO (corner retirement)	11 (12), 3:00	4 June 2005	Manchester, UK
Loss	Fernando Vargas	KO	10 (12), 1:38	20 August 2005
Win	Enrique Campos	TKO	5 (12), 2:57	1 October 2004	Manchester, UK
Win	Genaro Rios	Decision (unanimous)	12	12 June 2004	Manchester, UK
Win	Ignacio Solar	TKO	6 (12), 2:32	3 April 2004	Manchester, UK
Win	Diego Castillo	Decision (unanimous)	12	13 December 2003	Manchester, UK
Win	Roman Karmazin	TKO (corner retirement)	10 (12), 0:01	27 September 2003	Manchester, UK
Win	Pierre Moreno	Decision (unanimous)	12	5 April 2003	Manchester, UK
Win	Xavier Moya	KO	4 (12), 1:16	14 December 2002	Newcastle, UK
Loss	Oscar De La Hoya	Decision (unanimous)	2 (12)	23 June 2001	MGM Las Vegas, Nevada	Bout for De La Hoya's WBC Light Middleweight title.
Win	Javier Martinez Rodriguez	Decision (unanimous)	12	1 June 2002	Manchester, UK	Retained WBC Light Middleweight title.
Win	Tony Marshall	TKO	9 (12)	9 February 2002	Manchester, UK	Retained WBC Light Middleweight title.
Win	Juan Rondon	TKO	2 (12)	15 December 2001	London, UK	Friendly Fight
Win	Mohamed Bualled	KO	2 (12)	27 October 2001	Manchester, UK	Friendly Fight
Win	Michael Rask	TKO	5 (12)	15 September 2001	Manchester, UK	Retained WBC Light Middleweight title.
Win	Paolo Roberto	KO	4 (12), 2:08	7 July 2001	Manchester, UK	Retained WBC Light Middleweight title.
Win	Template:Country data COS Humberto Aranda	TKO	4 (12)	26 March 2001	London, UK	Retained WBC Light Middleweight title.
Win	Keith Mullings	Decision (points)	12	21 October 2000	London, UK	Champion on WBC Light Middleweight title WBC Light Middleweight title.
Win	Cristinel Acatrinei	TKO	5 (12), 1:57	23 September 2000	London, UK
Win	Ahmet Dottuev	KO	2 (12)	10 June 2000	Detroit, Michigan
Win	Fernando Jose Riera	KO	4 (12)	16 May 2000	Warrington, UK
Win	Juan Ramón Medina	TKO	4 (12)	25 March 2000	Liverpool, UK
Win	Tibor Horvath	TKO	3 (8)	29 January 2000	Manchester, UK
Win	Stefan Driscu	KO	4 (12), 0:51	11 December 1999	Liverpool, UK
Loss	Laurent Boudouani	TKO	4 (12)	9 October 1999	Manchester, UK
Win	Carlos Rocha Tomar	Decision (points)	6	17 July 1999
Loss	Laurent Boudouani	TKO	4 (12)	9 October 1999	Manchester, UK
Win	Ludovic Proto	Decision (points)	6	17 July 1999	Doncaster, UK
Win	Patrick Vungbo	TKO	5 (12)	29 May 1999	Halifax, UK
Win	Valentino Manca	KO	2 (10)	3 April 1999	London, UK |
Win	Santo Colombo	TKO	2 (10)	27 February 1999	Oldham, UK
Win	Bernard Razzano	KO	6 (8)	19 December 1998	Liverpool, UK
Win	Hugo Daniel Sclarandi	KO	1 (6)	31 October 1998	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	Javier Rivera	KO	2 (6)	19 September 1998	Oberhausen, Germany
Loss	Julio Cesar Vásquez	Decision (points)	6	18 July 1998	Sheffield, UK
Win	Jesus Carlos Velez	Decision (points)	6	30 May 1998	Bristol, UK
Win	Enrique Areco	TKO	1 (6)	18 April 1998	Manchester, UK
Win	Antonio Campbell	KO	1 (4)	27 March 1998	Telford, UK
Win	Vasile Citea	KO	1 (4), 1:25	17 January 1998	Bristol, UK
Win	Jorge Andrés Sclarandi	Decision (unanimous)	4	19 December 1997	New York City, New York
Win	Saoul Mamby	TKO	1 (4)	11 September 1997	Widnes, UK
Win	Harry Arroyo	TKO	5 (12), 1:57	23 September 2000	London, UK
Win	Edison Martínez	KO	2 (12)	10 June 2000	Detroit, Michigan
Win	Lindon Scarlett	KO	4 (12)	16 May 2000	Warrington, UK
Win	Gejza Stipak	TKO	4 (12)	25 March 2000	Liverpool, UK
Win	Patrick Vungbo	TKO	3 (8)	29 January 2000	Manchester, UK
Win	Domingo Sánchez	KO	4 (12), 0:51	11 December 1999	Liverpool, UK
Win	Juan Rosario	TKO	4 (12)	9 October 1999	Manchester, UK
Win	Eric Dindaine	Decision (points)	6	17 July 1999	Doncaster, UK
Win	Alfonso Redondo	TKO	5 (12)	29 May 1999	Halifax, UK
Win	José Salinas	KO	2 (10)	3 April 1999	London, UK
Win	Claudio Salgado	TKO	2 (10)	27 February 1999	Oldham, UK
Win	Mateo Valdez	KO	6 (8)	19 December 1998	Liverpool, UK
Win	Felix Rodríguez	KO	1 (6)	31 October 1998	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	Carlos Tavarez	KO	2 (6)	19 September 1998	Oberhausen, Germany
Win	Louie Antuna	Decision (points)	6	18 July 1998	Sheffield, UK
Win	Template:Country data NET Jimmy Bartes	Decision (points)	6	30 May 1998	Bristol, UK
Loss	Del Bryan	TKO	1 (6)	18 April 1998	Manchester, UK
Win	Victor Carvalho	KO	1 (4)	27 March 1998	Telford, UK
Win	Juan Antonio López	KO	1 (4), 1:25	17 January 1998	Bristol, UK
Win	Modesto Villardell	Decision (unanimous)	4	19 December 1997	New York City, New York
Win	Santiago Vasquez	KO	1 (4), 1:25	17 January 1998	Irún ESP
Win	Juan Pérez	Decision (unanimous)	4	19 December 1997	Torrejón, ESP
Win	Angel Diez	TKO	1 (4)	2 September 1988	San Martin, Madrid, ESP
Win	Angel Diez	TKO	1 (4)	22 July 1988	Madrid, ESP

See also

• List of WBC world champions

External links

• Boxing record for Javier Castillejo from BoxRec (registration required)

• 1968 births
• Living people
• Spanish boxers
• WBA Champions
• World Middleweight Champions