WON: 29
LOST: 4
DRAW: 0
KOS: 18
RANKING: #8 WBC
TITLES HELD: WBC CARIBBEAN BOXING FEDERATION (CABOFE) HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
NICKNAME: “EL TORO”

The rise up the ladder for Manny Quezada is one of the most unexpected and pleasant surprises in the heavyweight division.

The 32-year old native of Wasco, CA didn’t turn to boxing until the advanced age of 23. And that was after years in the martial arts where he earned a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do followed by a stint in kick boxing, where he won 10 of his 13 fights starting at age 16.

Frustrated by the inactivity resulting in a dearth of kick boxing opponents willing to square off with him, Manny decided to turn his focus to the sport of boxing. He turned pro in early August, 2001 with a first-round knockout of Shane Harris in nearby Bakersfield, CA. He followed that up at month-end with another opening-round blowout.

However, Manny was about to find out that boxing just wasn’t quite as easy as it seemed. He lost a majority decision in his third pro fight to a boxer named James Monroe, who was making his pro debut.

Having regrouped, Manny went on to post a string of five straight victories before being stopped in the second round by Dennis Weaver in Fresno, CA in February, 2003.

Following another first-round knockout win, Manny would suffer another setback – a majority decision loss to James Lester in Bakersfield in May 2003.

It was almost two years before Manny would fight again. In April, 2005, Manny returned with a flourish by flooring Tony Cox twice in the second round before the bout in Burbank, CA was stopped. In July 2005 he fought for the first time for Goossen Tutor in Lemoore, CA and flattened Marcus Dear in the first round. He has been with Goossen Tutor ever since.

In September, 2005 Manny battled his way to a split-decision win over rugged veteran John Clark in Lemoore. However, three months later in Lemoore he was on the short end of a unanimous decision to David Johnson.

Perhaps the disappointment of that performance was one of several turning points in his career, because he dedicated himself to training and was ready to make the sacrifices needed to reach his goal that has resulted with a current 18-fight winning streak and a world ranking.

It started in February, 2006 with a six-round, unanimous-decision win over Adam Smith in Bakersfield. Two fights later – in December of that year – he avenged his loss to Johnson with a win in Lemoore in his first eight-round contest.

Three fights later – in July, 2007 -- Manny got his biggest exposure to date when he appeared on the Paul Williams-Antonio Margarito undercard and pitched a virtual shutout win over Gary Gomez at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.

Another pivotal fight occurred in August, 2008 when Manny won all 10 rounds on all three judges’ scorecards in claiming the WBC Carribean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) title over veteran Andrew Greeley back in Lemoore.

He followed that up with an impressive unanimous-decision victory over Teke Oruh in the first-ever professional boxing event held at the new Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA in November 2008.

At that point, Manny made a major decision which he hopes will help catapult him to a world championship. He decided to change trainers and go with Joe Goossen, who has guided the likes of Michael Nunn, Rafael and Gabriel Ruelas, Joel Casamayor and the late Diego Corrales to world titles. The Quezada-Goossen team debuted against Eric Boose in February 2009 and Manny made the first defense of his CABOFE title with an impressive fifth-round TKO win in Lemoore.

Following a first-round TKO win over Jeffrey Brownfield, Manny took a big step up in class when he squared off in the second defense of his CABOFE title against Travis Walker, who was 31-2-1 with 25 KOs at the time. Near the end of the opening round Manny struck with a lightning-quick combination, sending Walker to the canvas with such force that referee John Schorle didn’t even bother to count.

That stunning win put Manny on the map in the World rankings and on the list of contenders which is quite a meteoric rise from a less than auspicious start to his career where he was 11-4-1 after 16 fights.

In his last fight on October 22, 2009, Quezada defended his title with a convincing and unanimous decision victory over Nicolai Firtha in Lemoore.

FAMILY:

Manny is one of four siblings born to Roque and Gracialia Quezada. He has two brothers (Javier and Roque, Jr. and a sister, Veronica). His father, Roque, works as an auto mechanic and Gracialia, his mother, works at a fruit packing company. He also has a grandmother named Margarita Quezada. When not boxing, Manny is a proud, single father of daughters Adriana (age 10), Aaliya (9) and Christina (8), as well as stepdaughters Alexandria (17) and Chelsey (15).

EDUCATION:

A 1996 graduate of Wasco High School, Manny was defensive captain for the school’s football team.

WHY BOXING:

Manny started fighting as an amateur kickboxer at the age of 16 and compiled a record of 10-3. After turning pro he won California State and West Coast titles. However, due to a lack of opponents willing to take him on, he turned to boxing at the age 23.

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS:

CHILDHOOD HERO: “My father, Roque.”

PEOPLE MOST ADMIRED: “Football coaches Pete Mitchell and Mark Greenfield for teaching him me to be tough and never to give up.”

EARLIEST BOXING MEMORY: “First win as a pro against Shane Harris (1st round KO).”

GREATEST SPORTS MOMENT: “Winning the WBC COBOFE Heavyweight title against Rick Dyer.”

PRE FIGHT FEELINGS: “Nervous and excited but confident.”

HOBBIES/INTERESTS: “Hanging out with my daughters and friends. Every Sunday in the fall I watch football and my favorite team is the San Diego Chargers.”

FAVORITE MOVIE: “Cinderella Man.”

FAVORITE MUSIC: “All music, but I especially favor Spanish
Music and Hip-Hop.”

FAVORITE MEAL: “Chinese food, especially orange chicken.”

FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL: “Corn Chex.”

FAVORITE JUNK FOOD: “Snickers candy bar.”

FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR: “Rocky Road.”

FIRST JOB: “Out in the fields picking cotton.”

FAVORITE BOXER TO WATCH: “Julio Cesar Chavez.”

TOUGHEST OPPONENT: “Mika Gergen.”

FAVORITE FIGHT (OWN): “Knocking out Travis Walker.”

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: “Last year doing road work in the street and bailed on the ground.”

CHILDHOOD DREAMS: “Becoming a World Champion in kickboxing or boxing.”

GOAL: “To win the Heavyweight Championship of the World.”

THINGS YOU WOULD
LIKE FANS TO KNOW: “That I’m real low key and very humble but
I have the heart of a champion. I’ll fight
anyone, anywhere, anytime.”

PRESENT: Manny is slated to return to the ring on April 8, 2010 and has his focus on fighting one of the world champions.