Velásquez participated in the 2004 Olympics at the age of 20 at featherweight but lost his first match to Edvaldo Oliveira of Brazil, by decision (43-43;countback).
At the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, he defeated Marlon Almagro (Venezuela), upset Olympic champion Yuriorkis Gamboa 10:7 in the semifinals and won Gold against Ronald de la Rosa (Dominican Republic).