Two-Time Olympian Carlos Góngora Signs With DiBella Entertainment, Eyes World Title Shot

Carlos Góngora has never had trouble finding fights. Finding the right people to put him in them is another matter — and now, according to DiBella Entertainment, he may have solved that problem.

DiBella Entertainment has signed Ecuadorian super middleweight contender Carlos 'Carlito's Way' Góngora (20-1, 15 KOs at the time of signing), according to dbe1.com. Góngora returns to the ring this Saturday against Oscar Riojas at Memorial Hall in Melrose, Massachusetts, in an event called 'Parade of Champions' presented by Boston Boxing Promotions, streaming live on combatsportsnow.com at 6:00pm ET.

Carlos Gongora is a dangerous, experienced and skilled fighter. I am happy to be working with my friend Mike Criscio on advancing his career. Gongora has proven that he is a threat to anyone in the super middleweight division and I look forward to helping him advance up the rankings toward a world championship opportunity.— Lou DiBella, President, DiBella Entertainment

The signing matters because of who Góngora is — and because of what he's been through to get here. Born in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, and raised in El Coca, Góngora comes from boxing stock: his uncle, Segundo Mercado, was a professional fighter who twice went the distance with Bernard Hopkins in the 1990s. Góngora picked up the sport at 12 and logged nearly 400 amateur bouts before turning professional in 2015, according to dbe1.com.

That amateur résumé is genuinely distinguished. Góngora represented Ecuador at the 2008 Beijing Olympics — reaching the quarterfinals before a loss to India's Vijender Singh ended his medal hopes — and again at the 2012 London Games. He also won bronze at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio as an 18-year-old, beating Venezuelan Alfonso Blanco 20-6 in a rematch of a South American Games final loss, before falling to Cuba's Emilio Correa, the eventual champion, in the semifinals, according to wikipedia.org.

His amateur path crossed some of the best fighters of a generation. At the 2007 World Championships, a referee stoppage loss to Matvey Korobov — who went on to win the tournament — ended his run. Correa beat him repeatedly on the amateur circuit. Those losses, against elite opposition, are the kind that build a fighter rather than define him.

Professionally, the southpaw's signature moment came on December 18, 2020, when he upset previously unbeaten Ali Akhmedov by 12th-round knockout at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida — dropping Akhmedov twice with his left uppercut in the final round to capture the IBO super middleweight title, according to dbe1.com. The fight was considered a Fight of the Year candidate.

The IBO title run ended with a controversial split decision loss to Britain's Lerrone Richards in Manchester, England — scorecards reading 115-113 each way and 116-112 for Richards — a result that left Góngora and his camp feeling undervalued, according to dbe1.com.

I have always been valued as a fighter. I'm a two-time Olympian and very much loved by my people in my country of Ecuador. The only time that I didn't feel valued as a fighter was in my last fight. I'm happy that I'm no longer in that situation, and very content that my manager, Mike Criscio, was able to land a deal with DiBella Entertainment. Lou's experience is what I need. He'll be able to find the fights that I want. Most importantly, what I see is that he values all of his fighters.— Carlos Góngora, boxer

When he's not in Ecuador, Góngora lives and trains out of a converted fire station in Springfield, Massachusetts — Universal Training Academy, run by his longtime trainer Hector Bermudez, according to dbe1.com. It's an unglamorous setup for a fighter ranked No. 12 by the WBC, but it reflects the grind that has defined his career: a two-time Olympian who built his professional reputation fight by fight, far from the promotional machinery that fast-tracks prospects to title shots.

DiBella Entertainment, whose president Lou DiBella is an International Boxing Hall of Famer, has a track record of developing contenders into legitimate title challengers. For Góngora, now in his mid-30s, the clock is ticking — but Saturday's return, and the promotional muscle behind it, suggests he's not done making his case.

Why it matters — Góngora's DiBella signing gives a decorated but under-promoted two-time Olympian his best shot yet at a legitimate world title fight — and Saturday's bout is the first step in finding out if he still has what it takes.

Reported by wikipedia.org, fightmag.com, dbe1.com, boxingscene.com