Yankiel Rivera
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Puerto Rican | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Yankiel Rivera Figueroa September 10, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | Flyweight | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Win by KO | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Yankiel Rivera Figueroa (born September 10, 1997) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is the only boxer in his country who qualified to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics.[1]
Amateur career
Rivera won bronze at the Pan American Youth Championships in Quito in 2014.[2] He lost to Leandro Blanc in the quarter-finals of the 2016 continental Olympic qualification in Buenos Aires[3] and competed at the 2017 World Boxing Championships in Hamburg, where he lost to the eventual runner-up Jasurbek Latipov in the preliminary round.[4] At the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla[5] and also at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, he won a bronze medal in the flyweight division.[6]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American-continental Olympic qualification tournament in Buenos Aires planned for May 2021 was canceled and a qualification based on the continental ranking was decided instead, which secured Rivera a starting place as number 3 in the ranking.[7]
Professional career
Yankiel Rivera was scheduled to face Angel Gonzalez in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 7, 2024.[8] Rivera won the fight by TKO in the fourth round.[9]
WBA interim flyweight championship
Rivera faced Angelino Cordova for the WBA interim flyweight title at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, on August 23, 2025.[10][11][12] The fight ended in a majority draw.[13][14]
He got a second chance at the still vacant WBA interim flyweight title against Jonathan González at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 3, 2026. Rivera lost by unanimous decision.[15][16]
Professional boxing record
| 9 fights | 7 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 3 | 0 |
| By decision | 4 | 1 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Loss | 7–1–1 | Jonathan González | UD | 12 | Jan 3, 2026 | Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico | For WBA interim flyweight title |
| 8 | Draw | 7–0–1 | Angelino Cordova | MD | 12 | Aug 23, 2025 | Caribe Royale Orlando, Orlando, Florida, U.S. | For WBA interim flyweight title |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Angel Gonzalez Jr. | TKO | 4 (10) 2:14 | Dec 7, 2024 | Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico | Retained WBO Inter-Continental flyweight title. Won vacant WBC Silver flyweight title |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Victor Efrain Sandoval | UD | 10 | Jun 15, 2024 | Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu, Manati, Puerto Rico | Retained WBC Continental Americas flyweight title. Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental flyweight title |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Andy Dominguez Velasquez | UD | 10 | Feb 24, 2024 | Caribe Royale Orlando, Orlando, Florida, U.S. | Won vacant WBC Continental Americas flyweight title |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Christian Robles | UD | 8 | Jun 24, 2023 | Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Fernando Diaz | UD | 8 | Feb 4, 2023 | Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Ramon Velasquez | KO | 3 (6) 0:25 | Nov 19, 2022 | Cancha Ruben Zayas Montanez, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jose Antonio Jimenez | KO | 1 (6) 1:01 | Sep 24, 2022 | Coliseo Elias Chegwin, Barranquilla, Colombia |
References
- ^ "Yankiel Rivera will be the sole hope of Puerto Rican boxing at Tokyo 2020". olympics.com.
- ^ "Panamerican Youth Championships 2014". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
- ^ "American Olympic Qualifier 2016". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
- ^ "World Championships 2017". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
- ^ "Central American and Caribbean Games 2018". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
- ^ "Panamerican Games2019" (PDF). amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
- ^ "Boxing Road to Tokyo Americas qualifier in Buenos Aires cancelled". Olympics.com.
- ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (16 November 2024). "Yankiel Rivera vs Angel Gonzalez joins Paro-Hitchins undercard". FIGHTMAG.
- ^ "Richardson Hitchins defeats Liam Paro: Updates, results and highlights from IBF super lightweight title bout | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. 8 December 2024.
- ^ "Yankiel Rivera-Angelino Cordova interim WBA title fight tops August 23 MVP show". www.boxingscene.com.
- ^ "Yankiel Rivera vs Angelino Cordova leads August 23rd MVP show in Orlando". Bad Left Hook. 20 June 2025.
- ^ "Yankiel Rivera faces Angelino Cordova at MVP 14 in Orlando, FL in August". FIGHTMAG. 20 June 2025.
- ^ "Yankiel Rivera denied clear victory over Angelino Cordova". Boxing News Online. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ^ "Yankiel Rivera, Angelino Cordova Fight To Majority Draw In Interim WBA Flyweight Title Bout". The Ring. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ^ "Jonathan Gonzalez schools Yankiel Rivera to win interim flyweight belt". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ^ "Jonathan Gonzalez earns five-figure bonus fee from Jake Paul". British Boxing News. Retrieved 5 January 2026.