09.09.07 – By Jaime Castro-Núñez: Little is known about current IBO super middleweight boxing titleholder Fulgencio Zúñiga (20-2-1, 17 KOs), who last September 1 destroyed previously unbeaten Victor Oganov of Syktyvkar, Russia, to claim the vacant IBO super middleweight belt. Inspired by his impressive performance against Oganov, I decided to do a little research on his early career and share it with his ESB fans..
Fulgencio Zúñiga –whose last name is often misspelled as Zuniga- was born on July 23, 1977 in the pueblo of Padilla, Valle, in southern Colombia. According to Raúl Porto-Cabrales’s History of Boxing in Colombia, Zúñiga started his boxing career in Barranquilla, Atlántico, where he met and eventually befriended future boxing sensation Edison “Pantera” Miranda.
The Padilla-born pugil made his first national appearance in 1997 in the 48th National Boxing Tournament held in the city of Bucaramanga, Santander, where he claimed the gold medal in the super middleweight division. In the same year of 1997 he participated in the following tournaments:
13th Bolivarian Games. Arequipa, Peru. Gold Medalist.
Central American Boxing Championship. Tijuana, Mexico. Silver Medalist.
4th Pan-American Boxing Championship. Medellín, Colombia.
During 1998 and 1999 Fulgencio Zúñiga continued his impressive amateur boxing career by wining the 49th National Boxing Tournament held in Santa Marta, Magdalena, thus becoming a two-time national champion. Then he represented Colombia in the following championships:
6th South American Games (a.k.a. Odesur Games). Cuenca, Ecuador. Gold Medalist.
Roberto Balado Cup. Havana, Cuba. Bronze Medalist.
6th South American Championship. Quito, Ecuador.
Córdoba Cardín Tournament. Havana, Cuba.
Zúñiga turned pro on February 11, 2001, when he faced tomato can Manuel Cabarcas in Barranquilla, scoring a TKO in round one. From March 2001 to November 2002 he faced fourteen opponents, all of whom were knocked out in the first rounds. On June 28, 2003, he faced Daniel Santos of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who eventually outpointed the Colombian fighter. Then Zúñiga faced better opponents, such as former IBC middleweight champion José Luis Zertuche; three-time middleweight championship challenger Antwun Echols; New Yorker George Walton, and highly-regarded Kelly Pavlik. After defeating Zúñiga, “The Ghost” Pavlik said: “This is the toughest fight I have ever fought. I don’t know if anyone in the middleweight division could fight this guy [Zúñiga] at this pace.”
Fulgencio Zúñiga claimed his first international belt after six years of fighting as a professional. His efforts have finally paid off. He is 30, exciting, hard-hitting, aggressive, and still has a long way ahead…