Yuniel Dorticos Pao is a professional boxer fighting in the cruiserweight division. The Cuban boxer earned the world championship in his weight division, having held the IBF title from 2019 to 2020 and the WBA title from 2017 to 2018. In terms of ranking, BoxREc ranked him as the fourth-best active cruiserweight boxer in the world while The Ring Magazine put him in second place. These rankings were made as of May 2020.
The former world champion had an impressive amateur boxing career. He joined and won second and third place in few national championships from 2005 to 2008. He was also represented his country during the Boxing World Cup as a light heavyweight in 2005 and 2006.
Dorticos stepped into the professional boxing realm in 2009. His debut fight was with Hilario Gomez of the Dominican Republic. He won the fight via technical knockout in the fourth round. He won the next 11 professional fights after his debut which were all happened from December of 2009 to March 2011. During his 13th fight in November of 2011, he earned the vacant WBO Latino cruiserweight title after defeating Livin Castillo of Ecuador via technical knockout in the third round.
From February 2013 to September 2017, Dorticos continued to amass impressive wins. During this period, he was able to win all of his 9 fights and earned several titles including the WBA interim Fedalatin, and WBA interim. He also reached the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight quarterfinals. In addition, Dorticos also retained his WBC Latino and WBA regular titles during this period.
It was in February 2018 when Dorticos experienced his first loss. This was after winning his 22 initial fights. He lost to Russian boxer Murat Gassiev via technical knockout in the 12th round during the semifinals of the World Boxing Super Series. This made him lost his WBA cruiserweight title.
After his first loss, Dorticos won his next two fights in October 2018 and June 2019 before experiencing his second loss to Mairis Briedis of Latvia on September 26, 2020. This was his latest fight wherein he lost his IBF title that he earned during his win in 2019.
Professional Boxing Record
- Total Fights: 26
- Wins: 24
- Losses: 2
