by Jaime Castro-Núñez, photo courtesy of Alex Teherán – Just a couple of days ago 19-year-old Colombian amateur pugilist Alex Teherán accepted an offer from boxing managers Mike Altamura and Cameron Dunkin to turn pro under their management. A gifted athlete, he has been fighting since the age of 14, was part of the Colombian Boxing Team since 2006 and fell just short of making the 2008 Colombian Olympic troupe. At the end of the Olympics, when the national squad lost five of its most experienced men: Eleider Álvarez, Darley Pérez, Óscar Rivas, Jonathan Romero and William Urina, Alex Teherán became, along with flyweight Óscar Negrete, the most valuable amateur boxer in the country..
“I’m pleased to inform that I’ve signed a contract with Mike Altamura and Cameron Dunkin to fight professionally in the United States. I want to thank them for this opportunity and all the people who have helped me in this journey, my family, friends, teammates and trainers in the Colombian team. It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make and I’m gonna miss friends and relatives, but they all understand I’m doing this for my future. If I want to succeed in boxing, I feel like I must continue my boxing career in the United States and become a world champion like Yonnhy Pérez, Juan Urango and many other Colombian boxers,” said an excited Alex to journalist Felipe Sandoval of www.boxeodecolombia.com. Mike Altamura believes “Alex is a phenomenal young fighter. He’s a sharp-punching, tough southpaw with tremendous upside, but he’s only 19, so it’s gonna take a lot of planning and patience to ensure he gets there. We have patience when building our fighters, so hopefully that’ll be the biggest difference in us taking on a fighter of his ilk”.
Amateur Accomplishments
-Four-time National champion.
-Gold Medal. Pan American Games, 2007. 60 Kg.
-Silver Medal. Bolivarian Games, 2009. 75 Kg.
-Silver Medal. South American Games, 2010. 75 Kg.
-Amateur Record: 110-20-9, 30 KO’s
The news of Alex Teherán’s depart from the amateur world rapidly spread in Colombia, especially in his native Barranquilla. “There’s no doubt Alex is a good boxer and that he’ll shine very soon,” said manager Alberto Agámez. Miami-based boxing photographer Marco Pérez, who witnessed Teherán’s boxing abilities last year during the World Championship, said: “This is great news for Colombian boxing, I mean, he’ll be managed by the same people who take care of Kelly Pavlik! I’m very happy for him. I’ve seen Alex fighting several times and always knew something really good was ahead”.
“Cameron and I will do our best with Alex to guide and nurture him, and give him the best opportunity possible to become a world class pro. We have tremendous respect for Colombian fighters, and I know two of Cameron’s toughest decisions in recent years were probably approving fights with Miranda (with Pavlik) and Julio (with Kirkland). Thankfully both guys won, but we’ve always felt that if we had the right Colombian, we could open up some doors whereby the kid may someday land on the A-side of a fight on HBO. Teheran I believe is that fighter. Here’s hoping!”-were the final thoughts of Mike Altamura.