Boxers...

JERSON RAVELO

A profile of the Newark, New Jersey Olympian

Record: 15-1, 10 KO's
Weight: Super Middleweight (168 lbs.)
Height: 6-2
Age: 25
Born: 7/30/77 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic
Lives: Newark, New Jersey
Began Boxing: 1989
Dominant Hand: Right

Ever since he was a youngster in his native San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Jerson Ravelo wanted to become a fighter.

However, it wouldn’t be until 1989 after he had already immigrated to the United States that the future 1998 and 1999 NJ Hall of Fame Amateur Boxer of the Year, decided to make his intentions known. He reluctantly decided to write a letter to his father, leaving it on the kitchen table for him to read. In it he wrote about his desire to become a fighter.

Much to Jerson’s surprise, the older Ravelo showed support right from the beginning, introducing him to the NJ Hall of Fame Boxing Gym in Newark, New Jersey, at the age of 12. Although boxing has consumed most of his life ever since, Ravelo graduated from Barringer High School in Newark in 1995 and plans to study computer programming in the future. His boxing life, however, has already brought him great accolades and he hopes that the sport will also help him realize the dream of giving his family a better life. "One of my biggest wishes is to tell my parents to stop working," says Ravelo. "I want to be rich so I can support my family."

Jerson took his first steps towards making that wish come true on January 27, 2001 at Madison Square Garden as he made his professional debut on DiBella Entertainment’s "Night of the Olympians" card. Those first steps were very impressive. In a dominant display of speed and power, Jerson scored an early first round KO over Miguel Guittierrez (1-1, 0 KO’s).

In his second professional bout on March 14, 2001 at Yonkers Raceway, Jerson took on Enroy Toney (0-1), an awkward 6'1" southpaw, in a four round bout. Despite Toney’s efforts to turn most of the bout into a wrestling match, Ravelo landed numerous heavy right hands en route to a unanimous decision victory.

On March 30, 2001 Ravelo faced Tommy Barker (2-7-1, 1 KO) at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first round featured a barrage of precise and powerful combinations including numerous vicious body attacks. Jerson remained in control as he floored Barker once in round two before referee Frank Cappuccino stopped the bout a few seconds later.

On the undercard of Bernard Hopkins vs. Keith Holmes on April 14, 2001, Ravelo took on Manu Ntoh (1-2, 1 KO) at Madison Square Garden. Landing numerous hard right hands, he knocked Ntoh down in the first round and again in the third. Jerson weathered a furious attack in round four by using footwork and quick reflexes en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Ravelo needed less than one round to dispatch his next opponent on May 4, 2001 at the Sands Hotel in Atlantic City. Stacey Williams was stunned by Jerson's first heavily landed shot about a minute into the round. From that point on, Williams attempted to run, but Jerson caught him in the corners on numerous occasions unloading quick combinations to the head and body. A big, straight Ravelo right hand sent Williams to the canvas for the ten count at 2:18 of round one.

On June 26, 2001 on the deck of the U.S.S. Intrepid, Jerson faced Bert Jackson (3-5, 3 KO's). Ravelo asserted his dominance early. Midway through the first round, he pinned Jackson against the ropes and unloaded a quick combination that culminated with a tremendous Ravelo left. Jackson dropped to the canvas and the referee quickly stopped the fight.

Jerson made his first national television appearance against Alex Armenta (7-1, 6 KO's) on August 24, 2001 at the Mountaineer Racetrack in Chester, West Virginia on ESPN2. He came out quickly and dominated, scoring a knockdown one minute into the fight after a heavy right hook to the body. Seventeen seconds later, Armenta again went down compliments of a huge Ravelo overhand right. Thirty seconds later, Ravelo pinned Armenta against the ropes and unloaded a furious flurry of punches which culminated with a left hook that sent Armenta down for a third and final time.

On December 1, 2001 Jerson took on Troy Barnes (7-7-2, 2 KO's ) at the Jacob Javitz Center in New York City. Using a solid jab to get inside and utilizing a consistent body attack, Ravelo looked more seasoned than in any of his previous fights. Barnes, a solid Philadelphia veteran, proved to be Ravelo’s toughest test to date, yet Ravelo still won all rounds on each judges’ scorecard en route to unanimous decision victory.

On January 5, 2002, on the undercard of the HBO Boxing After Dark show "Real Men, Real Fights" at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, Jerson faced southpaw Eric Olds (4-1, 3 KO's). A little more than half way through the first round, Jerson trapped Olds in a corner and unloaded a five-punch combination that sent him to the canvas. Olds beat the ten count, but was unable to continue and the referee halted the bout.

On March 9, 2002, Ravelo became the first member of the Olympic Class of 2000 to reach double digit wins when he scored a TKO victory over Ted Don Muller (15-2-1, 5 KO's) at the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh. From the opening bell, Jerson immediately went on the attack, finding an opponent willing to exchange with him. Both fighters landed frequently, with Jerson landing the harder shots. As the fight progressed, they continued to exchange, but it became clear that Ravelo was the stronger of the two fighters. Mid-way through the third, Jerson dug in and landed a ferocious body shot that sent Muller to the canvas. Despite being hurt, Muller got up and finished the round. In the fourth, Ravelo continued to attack and after a barrage of unanswered punches in the last minute of the round, the referee halted the bout.

Jerson returned to the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden, on April 27, 2002 against Aaron Norwood (20-3-2, 9 KO's) on the undercard of McCline vs. Briggs. In one of his most impressive performances to date, Jerson did not disappoint the hundreds of Ravelo fans who turned out for the fight. Using a stiff jab and his superior speed and power, Jerson dominated his more experienced opponent from the opening bell. In the third, Jerson began to go to the body, forcing Norwood to drop his guard. Seeing the opening, he unleashed furious combinations to Norwood’s head. The referee called a halt to the bout after Ravelo landed a crushing right hand, snapping Norwood’s head back and sending him staggering across the ring with 1:08 left in the third.

Jerson was sidelined with a disc problem in his lower back from June through August 2002. After rehabilitative therapy he made his first premium cable television appearance (Shobox) when he returned to action on October 5, 2002 against the always tough George Walton (11-2, 7 KO's) at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL.

Hand injuries that ended up requiring several surgeries would end up keeping him sidelined until his return January 4th, 2004 against Jason Deitrich. The fight was the televised ESPN card headlined by Matt Vanda-vs-Sam Garr, however Ravelo's fight was not televised because of his long inactivity. Ravelo won a 5th round TKO over Deitrich.

Next up after the long layoff and just one fight back, Ravelo took his next step on his championship route by stepping up to face a tough, but very underrated David Lopez from Mexico (21-12 16 KO's) on April 2nd, 2004. He lost the fight to Lopez after 9 rounds of tough back and forth action by both men, and Ravelo felt that was his wake up call, and decided to head back to the gym the following Monday, April 5th. He decided to go back to what first got him all his amateur credentials. Jerson returned to one of his first coaches, Oscar Suarez. It was Suarez who took Jerson on to his first amateur national title.

After training with Oscar for several months and being very eager to make a return to the ring, Ravelo took on Las Vegas based Muhhammad Said. In Said's last victory just 2 months prior to facing Ravelo, he defeated a durable Javier Jarreguei (22-2) out of Mexico. Ravelo defeated Said with a majority decision, although the commentators and every boxing site that covered the fight, including bragging rights, gave Ravelo every round.

Ravelo is on what's been a very hard road to his dream of becoming a world champion, but promises he will not stop until he becomes one. He is a warrior who refuses to be held back from accomplishing his goals.

National recognition for Ravelo started in 1998, when he won the U.S. regional tournament held in Lake Placid, New York. Not being a U.S. citizen at the time kept him from participating in the U.S. Nationals held in Colorado Springs, Colorado that year. A victory would have guaranteed him a spot on the U.S. roster of fighters competing in the Goodwill Games held in New York City in 1998.

Nonetheless, he overcame that disappointment by capturing the 1998 National Golden Gloves Championship in Biloxi, Mississippi.

In 1998, Ravelo finally became a United States citizen, which made him eligible to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.

In 1999 he captured a gold medal at the U.S. Challenge Cup, beating the highly ranked Jeff Lacy. This earned Jerson a spot on the U.S. team that would go onto the World Championships in Houston, Texas. In that tournament, Ravelo lost in his first international bout to the representative from Turkey. Still he remained ranked No. 1 in the U.S. and was considered to be a leading candidate to represent the country in the Middleweight division at the Sydney Games.

The year 2000 couldn’t have come any sooner for Ravelo. He had set his sights on accomplishing his lifelong dream of making the Olympic team. The path towards that dream, however, was about to take an unexpected turn. His loss on a controversial decision to Jeff Lacy at the Olympic trials temporarily dashed his hopes of competing in Sydney.

Holding dual citizenship (Ravelo never gave up his Dominican citizenship) meant another chance at Olympic glory. Although the Dominican Republic had already chosen their Olympic squad, they agreed to see Ravelo perform at the Independence Cup. What followed was an explosive exhibition of power and boxing skills resulting in two KO's and one victory by decision. The road to Sydney however, was still not set in stone. In order to compete in Sydney he would have to win one of the three America’s Olympic Qualifiers. After a controversial and disheartening loss in the first qualifier, Jerson cemented a spot on the Dominican Team by winning the second qualifier in Tijuana. "My goal had always been to go to the Olympics," says Ravelo. "I never gave the Gold Medal a thought, but once I made it there, that’s all that mattered to me."

Winning the Gold was not meant to be, as days before the Games began, it was determined that he would be matched up with the Australian representative in his first round bout. Up 7-3 on points in the second round, Ravelo was not credited with a single punch in the last two rounds and lost by a mere point in an 8-7 decision. Ringside observers and TV commentators unanimously derided the poor judging that turned the fight in the Australian’s favor. Commentators said, "I thought about Roy Jones in 1988," referring to Jones' controversial loss to the South Korean at the Seoul Games. Never one to harp on misfortune, Jerson was able to see the positive side of his experience, "Still, my first dream was accomplished. I always wanted to make it to the Olympics."

When recently asked about his professional career, Jerson replied "Boxing in the Olympic Games was my amateur goal; winning a world championship is my professional goal. I’m ready to prove myself."