Ahmed Santos
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Ahmed Santos (born February 19, 1974) is a well known newspaper columnist and former boxer. He was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico.
[edit] Boxing career
Santos built a fan base both in Los Mochis and in Phoenix, Arizona as a professional boxer. He debuted professionally on October 2, 1992, with a ten round draw against Francisco Sandoval in Los Mochis. Santos then won seven fights in a row, including a second round knockout of Sandoval in a rematch held at Culiacan, before moving to Phoenix in 1995.
He kept his winning streak going until April 22, 1996, when he lost to former world title challenger David Sample by a ten round decision at Tempe, after having reached thirteen wins in a row.
He then won six of his next fights, drawing (tying) the other two, with two knockouts. After that, he challenged Pete Talliaferro for the IBA's Jr. Welterweight title. He won that belt September 10, 1997, with a nine round knockout in Las Vegas. He defended the title only once, losing to Antonio Diaz by a twelve round decision on December 20 of the same year.
Santos then won three of his next four bouts before challenging for the regional, NABF Jr. Welterweight title. Among the three boxers he beat during that span were former world title challenger Billy Irwin and Ricky Quiles.
On April 16, 1999, at Bossier City, Louisiana, he beat Patrick Thomas by a twelve round decision to win the regional belt. He retained the title once, and then, on February 12, 2000, he received a shot at the WBC world Jr. Welterweight champion, Kostya Tszyu, in Connecticut. Santos lost that fight by knockout in eight rounds.
He went on to lose two of his next three fights before retiring, including his last one, held in Puerto Rico.
[edit] Writing career
After retiring from boxing, Santos started to write articles for the Phoenix edition of the American Spanish language newspaper, Prensa Hispana. He remained there for a very long time, as a well known former boxer who contributed his opinion about boxing fights. He began to been seen constantly around Phoenix's boxing circles, attending press conferences with important current and former world champions, interviewing them and offering local television interviews as well.
In 2003, Prensa Hispana's main Phoenix competitor, La Voz, attempted to lure Santos into their roster of writers. Santos accepted a job at La Voz, however, Prensa Hispana has tried to lure him back.
Santos' presence at important boxing events in Phoenix remains constant.
Santos had a ring record of 26 wins, 5 losses and 4 draws, with 14 wins by knockout.
