Juan Fernando Urango Rivas (born October 4, 1980), best known as Juan Urango, is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2012. He held the IBF junior welterweight title twice between 2006 and 2010, and challenged once for the WBC welterweight title in 2009. His nickname of "Iron Twin" is a reference to his twin brother, Pedro Urango, who is also a former boxer.
Professional career Urango made his professional debut on April 30, 2002, scoring a second-round knockout against Efrain Sotomayor. On August 5, 2004, Urango challenged Mike Arnaoutis for the WBO–NABO light welterweight title, but their fight ended in a majority draw. In his next fight, on December 16, 2004, Urango stopped Ubaldo Hernandez to win the vacant WBC Latino light welterweight title. He unified this with the IBF Latino title by knocking out Francisco Campos in five rounds on April 22, 2005. Urango won his first world championship—the vacant IBF light welterweight title—on June 20, 2006, by scoring a unanimous decision (UD) over Naoufel Ben Rabah,"Urango wins Hatton's vacant title". BBC Sport. BBC. July 2, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2016. but would lose by the same result in his first defense, on January 20, 2007, against Ricky Hatton (who had vacated the title in March 2006).Dirs, Ben (January 21, 2007). "Hatton regains IBF crown in Vegas". BBC Sport. BBC. July 2, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
2009 was a busy year for Urango: on January 30, 2009, he regained the IBF title (which was again vacant) by defeating Herman Ngoudjo via UD.Kimball, George Edward (January 31, 2009). "Urango proved all wrong for Ngoudjo". ESPN. Retrieved July 15, 2016. On May 30, Urango briefly moved up to welterweight, but lost an uncompetitive UD to WBC champion Andre Berto.Vester, Mark (May 31, 2009). "Berto Dominates Urango For a Unanimous Decision". BoxingScene. Retrieved July 15, 2016. Returning on August 28, Urango faced Randall Bailey in defense of his IBF light welterweight title. In an action-packed fight, Urango was knocked down for the first time in his career, but responded by knocking down Bailey three times to score a late stoppage in the eleventh round.Norby, Michael (August 30, 2009). "Urango Climbs Off The Floor To Score Late Stoppage Victory Over Bailey". SecondsOut Boxing News. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
On March 6, 2010, Urango attempted to unify his IBF title with that of WBC champion Devon Alexander. The fight was competitive through eight rounds, until Alexander landed a hard right uppercut to send Urango to the canvas. Despite being badly hurt, Urango managed to beat the referee's count and continue momentarily, but was then floored again. He got up for a second time, only for the referee to deem him unable to continue."Alexander stops Urango". Sky Sports. Sky. March 7, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2016. Urango would spend more than two years away from the sport, retiring to work on a pig farm he had bought in Colombia.Rafael, Dan (April 13, 2012). "Promoter: Urango a no-go without us". ESPN. Retrieved July 15, 2016. He had two comeback fights against journeyman opposition on April 26 and September 14, 2012, but has not fought since.
Personal life Urango is a devout Christian, and was raised on his family's farm in Montería.Palmer Jr., Socrates (January 29, 2009). "Juan Urango Follows His Faith" . boxingtalk.com. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes28WinOney ValdezKO5 (10), Sep 14, 201227Win23–3–1Cristian ChavezKO2 (10), Apr 26, 201226Loss22–3–1Devon AlexanderTKO8 (12), Mar 6, 201025Win22–2–1Randall BaileyTKO11 (12), Aug 28, 200924Loss21–2–1Andre BertoUD12May 30, 200923Win21–1–1Herman NgoudjoUD12Jan 30, 200922Win20–1–1Carlos Wilfredo VilchesKO4 (12), Apr 23, 200821Win19–1–1Marty RobbinsTKO5 (10), Dec 5, 200720Win18–1–1Nasser AthumaniTKO4 (10), Aug 31, 200719Loss17–1–1Ricky HattonUD12Jan 20, 200718Win17–0–1Naoufel Ben RabahUD12Jun 30, 200617Win16–0–1Andre EasonTKO7 (12), Aug 26, 200516Win15–0–1Francisco CamposKO5 (12), Apr 22, 200515Win14–0–1Ubaldo HernandezTKO2 (12), Dec 16, 200414Draw13–0–1Mike Arnaoutis12Aug 5, 200413Win13–0Sergey Sorokin6Jun 8, 200412Win12–0Levan KirakosyanPTS8Feb 6, 200411Win11–0Frank Oppong6Oct 11, 200310Win10–0Marcos MunozKO2 (8)Sep 26, 20039Win9–0Ricardo Antonio VieiraKO1 (6)Jul 24, 20038Win8–0Luis MartinezKO1 (6)Dec 22, 20027Win7–0Eduardo MoralesKO2Oct 21, 20026Win6–0Amaury RaceroTKO2 (6)Aug 30, 20025Win5–0Dagoberto GelesKO5Jul 27, 20024Win4–0Pedro Fuentes3 (10)Jul 26, 20023Win3–0Luis BlandonKO3Jun 15, 20022Win2–0Amaury RaceroKO2May 21, 20021Win1–0Efrain Sotomayor2 (6)Apr 30, 2002
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