Joan Guzmán (born May 1, 1976) is a Dominican former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO super bantamweight title from 2002 to 2005, and the WBO junior lightweight title from 2006 to 2008. Amateur career Having started boxing at nine, Guzman won 310 out of 320 bouts as an amateur. Included in these victories was a gold medal winning bout at the 1995 Pan American Games. He also competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia where he lost to future record setting world champion Omar Andrés Narváez. Professional career Guzmán began his professional career in the United States. His debut fight, on September 23, 1997, was held in Phoenix, Arizona. There, he knocked out Juan Miguel Rivera in two rounds. After another second-round knockout win (this time at the Madison Square Garden in New York City), he returned to the Dominican Republic. He took off two years from boxing, then he came back for his first fight in his homeland. On March 11, 1999, he outpointed Orlando Mateo over eight rounds at Santo Domingo. He fought six more times before being given a title try for the Dominican featherweight title. During his two-year lay-off, he dropped off in weight, from the featherweight division to the super bantamweight division. On October 25, 1999, he knocked out Francisco de Leon in round eleven to win the national title. He retained the title once, with a two-round knockout of Santiago Matos. He later knocked out Hector Julio Avila in the second round on August 9, 2001, for the vacant NABO regional super bantamweight title. Another win was especially significant, since it was for the WBO's Latino title, as well as for the WBO's vacant intercontinental title and for Guzman's NABO title. Guzman added those two new regional championships and retained the one he already owned, by beating Edel Ruiz by decision, in a fight held in Tacoma, Washington on September 29, 2001. World championships Guzmán became ranked number one in the super bantamweight division of the WBO. The WBO's world super bantamweight champion, Agapito Sanchez, travelled to Cardiff, Wales, to defend his title against Guzmán, but was diagnosed with a detached retina during a required medical check-up days before the fight and was then removed of the title. Sánchez temporarily retired from boxing and Guzmán found himself fighting Fabio