“Iron Boy”

• Age: 33 (1-27-75)
• Residence: Bayamon, Puerto Rico
• Birthplace: Bayamon, Puerto Rico
• Record: 31-0, 6 KOs
• Height: 5’0”
• Manager: Peter Rivera
• Trainer: Jose “Che Che” Sanchez

World championship fights - 15-0, 2 KOs…

WBO jr. flyweight world champion, two successful defenses...

The Ring jr. flyweight world champion...

Former WBO mini-flyweight world champion, 11 successful defenses…

Former NABO mini-flyweight champion…

2000 Olympic representative for Puerto Rico, 106 pounds…

At the age of 33, Ivan is a seven-year pro. The WBO jr. flyweight world champion, he won the title with a sensational performance against Hugo Cazares in August, 2007, and had made two successful title defenses.

This fight is the rematch.

Ivan is a former WBO mini-flyweight world champion, as well. He won that title in May, 2003, and made 11 successful title defenses before moving up in weight.

In his last fight in April, 2008, Ivan won a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBO jr. flyweight world champion Nelson Dieppa.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com: It’s been said before and it’s true. There are three constants in the world: Death, taxes and a dominant decision victory by Calderon, the sport’s consummate technical boxer. Calderon, 33, defended the legitimate 108-pound world championship with a shutout decision against Puerto Rican countryman Dieppa. It was Calderon’s second defense following a long reign as 105-pound champion. Although he’s changed weight divisions, not much else is different. He still has quicker hands than his opponents and still boxes and moves as well as any fighter in the sport.

After his first fight against Cazares, Fightwriter.com’s Graham Houston reported: The little man beat the big man as Ivan Calderon, boxing beautifully for round after round, clearly outpointed Hugo Cazares in their 108-pound championship bout...

Calderon has been compared to a small-sized Pernell Whitaker. I think that images could have been evoked of a southpaw version of Willie Pep, so slick were Calderon’s moves as he had Cazares lunging, missing and going into the ropes.

This was a fight that was always going to be a dangerous one for Calderon, and sure enough, as he seemed to slow down a little, he got caught by hard shots in the eighth round and for anxious moments it looked as if he might be overwhelmed. He took a count of eight after hanging onto Cazares like the proverbial drowning man before sliding to the canvas. Yet the 32-year-old little master kept a cool head in the worst moment of crisis in his unbeaten career. He moved, ducked, dodged and clinched - but he survived.

Although the ninth round was another one in which the supporters of Calderon must have had their hearts in their collective mouths, the worst was over. Second by second Calderon seemed to be getting his legs back under him. Although he was dragged to his knees when Cazares pulled down on his head after hitting him with a right hand, Calderon was gradually regaining the confidence and composure of the earlier rounds. By the end of the round the storm had passed, he was still there, and then Calderon regained control of the fight in the 10th with the mixture of hitting and moving that had won him so many of the earlier rounds.

This was a memorable performance by the 5-foot-tall Iron Boy. Cazares, 5-foot 6-inches, looked three weight divisions bigger, which he might well have been: although the contract stipulated that the Mexican fighter could not weigh more than 118 pounds on the morning of the fight the commentators speculated that he might have been as heavy as 130 pounds by the time he got into the ring.

Calderon was outmatched in terms of size and strength, to be sure, but he had the advantages in skill and maneuverability. His ring intelligence and anticipation was something to behold. For long moments he seemed to see everything coming, and time after time Cazares found himself flailing at the space where the Puerto Rican had just been.

Of course, Calderon didn’t just make Cazares miss, he also hit him, not with big punches but with snappy, clean blows, sometimes countering, at other times picking the perfect moment to dart in, score, and get out again.

It was one of the finest exhibitions of pure boxing I have ever seen given all the circumstances - the size and power disadvantages that the smaller man had to overcome. It was a night when boxing, so often maligned by the uninitiated, was truly the sweet science.

Ivan said, “This sport is called boxing and that’s what I do, I’m a boxer. I feel very confident, and I’m going to to incorporate my boxing and win the fight one round at a time. This is a business. My conditioning and my hunger makes the difference in my fights.”

Regarding his nickname, Ivan said, “In my debut we was playing around, ‘What nickname we gonna put?’, and Peter Rivera’s brother said, ‘Iron Boy,’ like Iron Mike. They used to call me Tyson and I liked the name, and they told me Tyson, they used to call ‘Iron Mike Tyson,’ so we got ‘Iron’ from Mike Tyson.”

Fight by Fight – 2008 – 2ND WBO JR-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight on 4-5-08 in Hato Rey, PR, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBO jr. flyweight world champion Nelson Dieppa (25-4-2): the fight headlined at Coliseo Roberto Clemente, and Ivan dominated; he consistently outboxed and outworked Dieppa, and shut him out 120-108 on all three scorecards...

2007 – 1ST WBO JR-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 12-1-07 in Albuquerque, NM, he won a 12 round unanimoius decision against Juan Esquer (22-2-1): Ivan was very inmpressive and dominated the fight; scored 118-110, 116-112, 115-113...

WON WBO JR-FL WORLD TITLE –on 8-25-07 in Bayamon, PR, he won a 12 round split decision against defending champion Hugo Cazares (25-3-1): Cazares was making his sixth defense of the title; the bout headlined at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez and drew a capacity crowd, and it was a good, close fight; the momentum shifted back and forth – Cazares constantly pressed forward, but Ivan frustrated him with movement, counterpunched effectively, and swept the 1st and 2nd rounds on all three scorecards; Cazares swept the 3rd, then won the 4th round on two scorecards, but Ivan came back and swept the 5th and won the 6th on two scorecards and after six rounds, led by scores of 59-55, 58-56, 57-57; Cazares won the 7th on two scorecards, then scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 8th; Cazares swept the 9th – Ivan stayed on the move and clinched at close range while he gradually recovered, but came back and won the 10th round on two scorecards, then swept the 11th; Ivan landed the sharper punches in the 12th round and won the round on two scorecards, as well, and won by scores of 115-112, 115-112 Calderon, 116-111 Cazares; after the fight, Ivan said, “I gave it my all. I knew it was going to be tough, and I did what I had to do - box and move, box and move. I would be happy to give him a rematch because he gave me the opportunity to with the title.”...

11TH WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 4-28-07 in Barranquilla, COL, he won a 12 round split decision against Ronald Barrera (20-2-1): it was a good fight; the early rounds were close, but Ivan built a small lead in the early rounds, and after six, led by scores of 58-56, 58-56, 57-57; Ivan rallied in the middle rounds – he swept the 7th, won the 8th on two scorecards, then swept the 9th round, as well; but Barrera kept pressing forward and finished the fight very strongly – he swept the 10th, 11th, and 12th, but could not catch up on the scorecards; scored 115-113, 115-113 Calderon, 115-113 Barrera...

2006 – 10TH WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 10-21-06 in Barranquilla he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Jose Varela (13-1): Ivan boxed and moved effectively and dominated the fight; scored 119-108, 118-109, 118-109...

9TH WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 4-29-06 in Guaynabo, PR, he TKO’d Miguel Tellez (17-5): Ivan dominated the fight and cut Tellez; the referee stopped the fight on the cut at 1:04 of the 9th round; after eight rounds, Ivan led by scores of 80-72, 80-72, 79-73...

8TH WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 2-18-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Isaac Bustos (24-7-3): Ivan fought more aggressively than usual and dominated the fight; scored 120-108, 120-108, 119-109...

2005 - 7th WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 12-10-05 in San Juan, PR, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former IBF mini-flyweight world champion Daniel Reyes (34-3-1): Ivan was very impressive and dominated the fight; he frustrated Reyes with movement and consistently outworked him; scored 120-109, 120-109, 119-109; after the fight, Ivan said, “You always try to please the crowd with a knockout, but if you can’t, you have to be happy with the win. The important thing is that I won, I’m healthy, and fresh enough to go dancing for a couple of hours. He caught me with a good shot to the body, but as a boxer you have to know how to fake it when you get hurt. Sometimes I’ve gone back to the corner barely breathing, and my opponents aren’t even aware of it.”…

6th WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 6-25-05 in Atlantic City, NJ, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Gerardo Verde (13-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Arturo Gatti main event, which Ivan started fast and swept the first seven rounds on all three scorecards; Verde rallied in the second half of the fight and won the 8th, 11th and 12th rounds on all three scorecards, but Ivan won by scores of 117-111, 117-111, 115-113; after the fight, Ivan said, “He was very strong, but he took too long of a time to pressure me. I dominated the fight with my boxing”…

5TH WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 4-30-05 in Hato Rey, PR, he TKO’d former Philippines light flyweight champion Noel Tunacao (38-7-2): Ivan scored a knockdown in the 1st round and dominated the fight; he rocked Tunacao with a series of punches in the 8th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:25; after seven rounds, Ivan led by scores of 70-61, 70-61, 70-62…

2004 - 4TH WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 11-27-04 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Carlos Fajardo (21-3-1): Ivan outboxed Fajardo, consistently landed the sharper punches, and dominated the fight; scored 120-107, 119-108, 118-109…

3RD WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 7-31-04 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former IBF mini-flyweight world champion Roberto Leyva (23-3-1): Ivan started fast and built a lead, but Leyva rallied in the middle rounds and landed the harder punches; but Ivan boxed effectively, finished the fight strongly, and won by scores of 116-112 on all three scorecards…

On 3-20-04 in Guaynabo, PR, he TKO’d former IBF mini-flyweight world champion Edgar Cardenas (30-11-2): the fight was the main event at the Mario Quijote Morales Coliseum - it was scheduled as Ivan’s third WBO world title defense, but Cardenas did not make the 105-pound weight limit; Cardenas pressed forward, but Ivan kept him off-balance with movement and dominated the fight; Ivan scored a knockdown with a body punch in the 11th round, and Cardenas was counted out at 1:33…

2003 - 2ND WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 12-6-03 in Bayamon, PR, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBO minimumweight world champion Alex Sanchez (29-3-1): Sanchez fought aggressively, but Ivan boxed and moved effectively and dominated the fight; he stunned Sanchez in the 3rd and 7th rounds, and wo by scores of 118-110, 117-111, 116-112…

1ST WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 9-5-03 in Caguas, PR, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Lorenzo Trejo (15-11): the fight was the main event at Hector Sola Bezares Arena; Trejo pressed forward, but Ivan used his skills and movement and dominated the fight; he bloodied Trejo’s nose in the 2nd round and staggered ihm in the 6th; scored 119-112, 119-109, 117-111…

WON WBO M-FL WORLD TITLE - on 5-3-03 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a technical draw against defending champion Eduardo Marquez (22-5-1): Ivan rocked Marquez several times and scored a knockdown in the 6th round; Marquez was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads in the 3rd round and the cut worsened in the 9th; the referee stopped the fight at 0:43 and went to the scorecards; Ivan led by scores of 90-80, 90-80, 89-81…

On 3-7-03 in San Juan, PR, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Juan Perez (9-3-1): Ivan frustrated Perez with constant movement and scored a knockdown in the 3rd round; he boxed effectively and landed accurate counterpunches throughout the fight, and won by scores of 100-89 on all three scorecards…

2002 - on 12-20-02 in Aibonito, PR, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against former WBC Continental Americas minimumweight champion Valentin Leon (14-4): the fight drew 3,000 fans, and Ivan gave an impressive performance; he scored a knockdown in the 7th round and shut out Leon in the scoring - 100-89 on all three scorecards…

WON VACANT NABO M-FL TITLE - on 11-22-02 in Caguas, PR, he won a 12 round decision against former Nicaraguan minimumweight champion Lee Sandoval (19-7-3): Sandoval pressed forward, but Ivan frustrated him with movement, boxed effectively and outworked him; scored 120-108, 119-109, 119-109…

On 9-6-02 in Victoria, TX, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Roberto Gomez (13-8): Ivan scored a knockdown in the 4th round and dominated the fight; scored 100-89, 99-90, 98-91.…

On 7-30-02 in Concho, OK, he won a 10 round decision against Alejandro Moreno (19-9-1): Ivan scored a knockdown in the 1st round with a straight left hand, and dominated the rest of the fight with his skills and movement; scored 100-89, 100-89, 99-90…

On 5-3-02 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 4 round unanimous decision against Rey Lopez (4-8-1): Ivan dominated the fight and rocked Lopez repeatedly; scored 40-36 on all three scorecards…

On 3-1-02 in Carolina, PR, he TKO’d Jorge Romero (5-10-1) in the 5th round…

On 1-11-02 in Caguas, PR, he won an 8 round decision against Michael Thomas (4-3-1)…

2001 – on 10-28-01 in Ponce, PR, he won an 8 round decision against Jorge Romero (5-8-1)…

On 8-26-01 in Carolina he won a 6 round unanimous decision against 1996 Peruvian Olympian Alberto Rossel (7-1): it was an exciting fight; Rossel was knocked down in the 1st round, but came back to knock down Ivan in the 2nd; Rossel was cut under the left eye by a clash of heads in the 3rd round…

On 7-1-01 in San Juan, PR, he won a 6 round decision against Ray Ramirez (7-8)…

On 5-20-01 in San Juan he TKO’d Iran Etheridge in the 1st round…

On 4-29-01 in Queens, NY, he won a 4 round decision against Ben Escobia (14-12-3)…

On 3-25-01 in Phoeniz, AZ, he won a 4 round decision against Arturo Velasquez (8-7-1)…

He debuted at the age of 26 on 2-17-01 in Las Vegas and TKO’d Sergio Diaz (4-8-2) in the 1st round…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: 2000 Olympics, Sydney, Australia, 106 pounds: in his first fight on 9-17-00 in Sydney he lost a 10-5 decision against La Paene Masara of Indonesia…

1999 Pan American Games, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 105 pounds – BRONZE MEDALIST: in his first fight on 7-31-99 he won an 8-3 decision against Wilfredo Valdez of Colombia; in the quarterfinals on 8-2-99 he won an 8-3 decision against Mendeo Winston of the Dominican Republic; in the semifinals on 8-4-99 he lost a 5-1 decision against Maikro Romero of Cuba; Romero went on to win the gold medal...

Ivan said, “They opened a gym around the block and I used to fight a lot in the street, and my brother told me to go the new gym for the community to see how it is. I was 17 years old. I went and I did a first fight and I lost, but I liked it and I kept on.

“I was on the national team since ’96. I had 130 amateur fights, with 20 losses. I won the bronze medal in the Central American Games, and the Pan American Games, I was the only boxer that won a medal for Puerto Rico, a bronze medal. Those were in ’99. I was the first boxer that made the Olympic team for Puerto Rico. In the Olympic Trials, I beat Brian Viloria. We had a fight for the silver medal to qualify and I beat him. We fought three times. He beat me two times, but I beat him in the important tournament”...

Ivan and jr. welterweight contender Miguel Cotto are very close friends…Ivan said, “We been friends since ‘94. We fought together once, against each other. I was 17 and he was like, 11 years old. [note: Ivan won the fight] He made the national team in ’97, I was already on the team, and since then, we been together all the way up to now. We go hang out. His wife is my wife’s cousin, we’re all family.

“I’m married and got two kids, a boy and a girl.”…

STRENGTHS: A lefthander with good skills, speed and movement…physically strong, has good stamina…keeps a fast pace in the ring…is experienced against very good opposition...had a strong amateur background…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 7 years, 6 months...31 fights…280 total rounds…181 world championship rounds…

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 9 rounds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 19 %…

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds - 13 (13-0)…11 rounds - 1 (1-0)…10 rounds – 4 (4-0)…