Joel Julio
Encyclopedia
Joel Jalil Julio Mejia is a professional Colombia
n boxer
rated as a junior middleweight. In 2005, he was named ESPN.com
's Boxing Prospect of the Year and he has appeared on Ring Magazine's New Faces feature, as well as in ShoBox
.
boxer Carlos Quintana
on June 24, 2006. He has since moved up to Junior Middleweight and bounced back with 5 consecutive wins, a disputed split decision over Cosme Rivera and 3 impressive KO wins over Francisco Campos, Thomas Davis and Mauro Lucero.
On July 11 2007, Julio faced Cornelius Bundrage
of Contender
fame. Julio's skill and accuracy became evident early in the fight as he outlanded the slower Bundrage. Julio scored knockdowns in the third and eighth rounds, ultimately winning via eighth round TKO.
Julio has been given the nickname "Love Child" by ESPN Writer Dan Rafael. He will commonly wear a LC on his trunks because of this nickname.
Julio took on another former "Contender" participant Ishe Smith
on April 30, 2008 in Vancouver. Smith's defensive style nullified Julio's power but it was not enough to get him the win, with Julio taking a close 10 round unanimous decision.
On August 13, 2008, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
in Hollywood, Florida
, Julio defeated Jose Varela by sixth round technical knockout. Julio knocked down his opponent five times before Varela's corner stopped the fight after the conclusion of round six.
On November 1, 2008 Julio suffered the second loss of his career to southpaw Sergiy Dzindziruk
via 12 round unanimous decision.
He was stopped by fellow power-punching prospect James Kirkland
in his next bout, March 7, 2009.
He was knocked out by Alfredo Angulo during their bout on April 24, 2010.
WBA FEDEBOL (Welterweight division)
WBC Continental Americas (Light Welterweight division)
WBA Fedecentro Welterweight (Welterweight division)
WBO Latino Welterweight (Welterweight division)
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
rated as a junior middleweight. In 2005, he was named ESPN.com
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Boxing Prospect of the Year and he has appeared on Ring Magazine's New Faces feature, as well as in ShoBox
ShoBox: The New Generation
ShoBox: The New Generation is a boxing television program, on Showtime. Debuting in 2001, it focuses mainly on up-and-coming boxing prospects. This program, which is a spin-off of its sister boxing program, Showtime Championship Boxing, usually televises live at 11 p.m. ET/PT on selected Fridays...
.
Professional career
Julio's first loss was a 12 round unanimous decision to Puerto RicanPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
boxer Carlos Quintana
Carlos Quintana (boxer)
Carlos Quintana is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur Quintana represented Puerto Rico. He debuted as a professional in 1997. On February 24, 2006, he participated in his first professional championship fight, defeating Raul Bejerano for the World Boxing Organization's Latino...
on June 24, 2006. He has since moved up to Junior Middleweight and bounced back with 5 consecutive wins, a disputed split decision over Cosme Rivera and 3 impressive KO wins over Francisco Campos, Thomas Davis and Mauro Lucero.
On July 11 2007, Julio faced Cornelius Bundrage
Cornelius Bundrage
Cornelius Bundrage, , is a professional boxer and current IBF Junior Middleweight Champion. He is a former UBA Light Middleweight champion and was member of the ESPN reality show, The Contender.-Pro career:...
of Contender
The Contender 2
The Contender 2 is a reality television show based on the sport of boxing, but with an element of the competitor's lives and relationships with each other within the show's living quarters, based in Pasadena, California. Filmed in January and February 2006, the show began airing on July 18, 2006...
fame. Julio's skill and accuracy became evident early in the fight as he outlanded the slower Bundrage. Julio scored knockdowns in the third and eighth rounds, ultimately winning via eighth round TKO.
Julio has been given the nickname "Love Child" by ESPN Writer Dan Rafael. He will commonly wear a LC on his trunks because of this nickname.
Julio took on another former "Contender" participant Ishe Smith
Ishe Smith
Ishe Oluwa Kamau Bhoduri Ali "Sugar Shay" Smith is a professional boxer, and was a competitor on the first season of the reality TV show The Contender....
on April 30, 2008 in Vancouver. Smith's defensive style nullified Julio's power but it was not enough to get him the win, with Julio taking a close 10 round unanimous decision.
On August 13, 2008, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
in Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
, Julio defeated Jose Varela by sixth round technical knockout. Julio knocked down his opponent five times before Varela's corner stopped the fight after the conclusion of round six.
On November 1, 2008 Julio suffered the second loss of his career to southpaw Sergiy Dzindziruk
Sergiy Dzindziruk
Sergiy "Razor" Dzinziruk is a Ukrainian professional boxer in the junior middleweight division. He is the current WBO Super Welterweight Champion.- Amateur :...
via 12 round unanimous decision.
He was stopped by fellow power-punching prospect James Kirkland
James Kirkland (boxer)
James Derick Kirkland is an American professional boxer.Kirkland fights at light middleweight, and is the WBO NABO light middleweight title holder...
in his next bout, March 7, 2009.
He was knocked out by Alfredo Angulo during their bout on April 24, 2010.
Titles won
Julio hasn't held a major title, but has captured the following fringe belts:WBA FEDEBOL (Welterweight division)
WBC Continental Americas (Light Welterweight division)
WBA Fedecentro Welterweight (Welterweight division)
WBO Latino Welterweight (Welterweight division)